Gamers thinking the C845K’s startling spec-to-price ratio might make it an exciting potential gaming monitor will be pleased to hear that it uses a 120Hz panel, while two of its four HDMI ports are capable of receiving 4K/120Hz feeds from the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and sufficiently high-spec PCs. In fact, the screen is even capable of handling 144Hz PC titles. Dolby VisionTM and Dolby AtmosTM bring the life-like picture and sound straight to your living room The C845K delivers outstanding sharpness and clarity with native 4K sources, and while its motion handling with 24p sources isn’t quite as refined and natural with or without processing active as the best rivals, it is fairly free from unwanted side effects and still looks natural enough to leave you immersed in what you are watching. Second, bass can be lighter in its contribution to the overall soundstage than the large size of the rear bass driver had me hoping for, and can also cause a little chassis buzzing under extended bass pressure.

As both these technologies evolve, the difference between them became less and less discernable, eventually making the choice about your own preference rather than any specific benchmarks or performance metrics. C735 Specs ALLM allows the video game console or PC graphics card to switch automatically the TV into game mode for a super fast TV game input lag below 6 ms **​ VRR eliminates lag, judder and frame tearing effects for fluid and better detailed gameplay.​ I should stress that these colour issues only crop up with bright HDR10 scenes/image areas. Dark HDR10 shots and scenes look pretty normal where colours are concerned – although, ultimately, this just makes the excesses with bright scenes all the more glaring. The intense colours are at their best with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ sources. The extra scene-by-scene picture information these two formats provide appears to help the set rein in its most aggressive colour instincts to deliver punchy but also mostly believable and balanced tones. So much so that pictures actually look much more dynamic and bold than the good (for this price level) peak measured brightness of around 540 nits would lead you to expect.

The entirety of the 55-inch set is balanced on a base with 2 legs and is quite different from the stands you usually get with high end TVs. It thankfully comes fitted with a lot of ports which is amazing, as most manufacturers these days skimp on giving ports for multiple inputs. There are 4 HDMI ports of which 1 accommodates 4K at 144hz, 1 is 4K at 120hz and 2 accommodate 4K at 60hz meaning it can accommodate practically any current and last gen console and optimal performance levels. If you have multiple consoles that you play on along with your PC, you will not have to unplug any of the cables and instead can have all of them on the different access ports. Besides the HDMI ports there is also a LAN cable port, a digital output port, headphone- in port and 2 USB ports at 2.0, which we felt was a little out of sync and off-putting as everything else is up to date, so why not have USB ports at 3.0.

This remains the case with the 65C815K, which, despite being a high-end model by TCL Europe standards, doesn’t get the full array with local dimming design that’s been so important to TCL’s success elsewhere. However, this doesn’t mean the 65C815K can’t further TCL’s European cause. TCL 65C815K price and availability Upscaling of sub-4K content is solid, although not the sharpest and with an element of noise. I don’t think it’s worth changing the Noise Reduction levels, however; the Auto setting looks too smooth and blurry. Fine detail can be a touch soft, depending on what you’re watching, but the TCL puts in a satisfying image. At this price, sound quality is often flat and uninspiring – but TCL’s down-firing full-range speakers sound pretty good. The 65C815K is also notable for how exceptionally slim its screen is at its outer edges. So much so that you’d be forgiven for thinking it must be an OLED rather than LCD TV. The subwoofer, meanwhile, eagerly underpins everything with far deeper bass than you get with most TVs, while only occasionally breaking down into mild distortions with the most extreme movie bass lines.

The overall motion handling is also excellent, with the panel’s 144Hz refresh rate undoubtedly helping. There’s no blurring on fast motion like sport, and the C745 handles 24p content without introducing judder, allowing movies to retain a film-like quality. The 65C845K sees TCL finally bringing to Europe the combination of aggressive pricing and unexpectedly excellent performance that has made the brand so successful in the US. In fact, the 65C845K is so good for its money that it pretty much redefines the whole TV market in a single blaze of ultra-bright glory. Calling in Onkyo to help out the 65C815K’s sound quality results in an impressive audio performance for such an affordable TV. In its marketing, TCL claims there are four HDMI 2.1 inputs, but this isn’t correct with only two HDMI 2.1, plus two HDMI 2.0b inputs. While all four inputs support 4K/60Hz, HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HDCP 2.3, and CEC, only the 2.1 inputs can handle 4K/120Hz, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). At least TCL has sensibly used one of the 2.0b inputs for eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), allowing you to simultaneously connect two next-gen gaming consoles and a soundbar. The TCL C745 uses a pair of downward-firing full-range speakers, each of which has 15W of built-in amplification. The sound quality is reasonably good considering the TV’s dimensions and screen size, with a clean delivery, some nice detail, and a degree of stereo separation. However, there’s little in the way of bass extension, and the audio can sound strained at higher volumes.