TCL 55C805K

Verdict

Built around a bright QD-Mini LED panel, this 55-inch TCL C805 4K TV offers a lot of tech for the money. It’s an ideal set for bright room viewing, is Dolby Vision enabled and has compelling game credentials…

Introduction

An affordable Mini LED TV that doesn’t look like an escapee from the bargain aisle? That’ll be the TCL C805 series. Not only does this mid-ranger have a sense of style, but it’s well specified, with 4K/120Hz HDMI support and the Google TV smart platform.

The C805 is available in screen sizes from 50- to 98-inches. The largest size was put through its paces, and were suitably impressed during a preview event in Poland. 

Of course, not too many of us have room for a supersized screen, so we’ve now hauled the 55-inch model onto our test bench, and reckon it’s a strong Mini LED alternative to the Hisense 55-inch U6N and Samsung QLED QN93C…

Availability

The C805 comes in 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-, 98-inch screen sizes (50C805K, 55C805K, 65C805K, 75C805K, 85C805K. and 98C805K), priced at £550, £599, £799, £1,349, £1,699 and £2,799 respectively.

Design

• Central metal stand
• 2 x HDMI v2.1 inputs
• Dolby Atmos audio  

Credit where credit’s due: the 55-inch C805 looks more premium than its price tag suggests. This QD-Mini LED model sports a smart, brushed titanium metal frame with matching, central pedestal stand. It sits neatly on regular AV furniture. 

An Onkyo badge to the bottom right of the screen indicates that the set employs a sound system devised by the audio brand. 

The remote handset has the feel good factor, with rounded corners and dedicated buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and the TCL channel.

There are four HDMI inputs to the rear, two of which offer High Frame Rate support. HDMI 1 is able to handle 4K/144Hz, while HDMI 2 plays nice with 4K120Hz, and supports eARC. HDMI 3 and 4 both manage 4K/60Hz, with the latter eARC enabled..

Additional connectivity includes digital optical audio output, a 3.5mm AV minijack input, Ethernet and single USB port. There are also terrestrial and satellite tuners, plus headphone jack and CI slot. 

There is no direct equivalent in the USA or Australia, although you’ll find very similar models in the TCL range.

Features

• Google TV
• Game Mode

This 55-inch TCL supports 4K/120Hz gameplay, which is good news for owners of a PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’ll also run 144Hz VRR when connected to a PC graphics card on HDMI 1. There’s also AMD Freesync Premium Pro compliance. ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) comes as standard.

Gaming response is reasonably good. I measured input lag at 13.3ms (1080/60Hz) in Game mode. A frantic play through of Overwatch proved silky smooth. 

Smarts come via Google TV, the content-centric cousin to Android TV. Usability is fine, with caveats… 

There’s plenty of streaming apps available, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, YouTube and Apple TV, but mainstream UK catch-up TV support is poor, with only My 5 currently available.

If you download BBC iPlayer, ITVX and All4 from Google Play, you’ll just get an Error message. 

Naturally, the TV works with Google Assistant, as well as Alexa. The zapper has a built-in mic.

The Google TV Home page is intuitive enough to use, and offers individual accounts, so adults and children can have their own on-screen space, with personalised recommendations and separate Watch Lists. There’s also support for Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. The set also boasts IMAX Enhanced certification.

Picture Quality

• QD-Mini LED panel
• Dolby Vision support
• Adaptive brightness

The picture impresses, thanks to the precision afforded by the set’s Mini LED backlight and local dimming zones. 

Black levels are reassuringly dark, particularly when viewed in rooms with ambient light (rather than full darkness). Colour fidelity is excellent. Reds and Blues appear deep and rich, with a vibrancy that really catches the eye.

Picture presets include Standard, which is effectively the power saving mode, Smart HDR, Sport, Movie, Game and Dynamic. HDR support covers Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. 

The set has two intelligent auto modes, for picture and sound. Adaptive Brightness uses the light sensor to react to ambient room light, while Adaptive Volume adjusts to the ambient sound level in the room. 

TCL rates the HDR performance of this QD-Mini LED display as HDR Premium 1300. I measured HDR peak brightness at 1049 nits, in Standard viewing mode, with a 10 per cent measurement patch. You can boost this a smidge using the Dynamic image preset, but overt oversaturation isn’t worth the bump.

Its HDR presentation can be considered good whatever way you slice the cake, and more than bright enough to cope with the majority of HDR encoded TV content. A run through of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (4k UHD Blu-ray) offers plenty of HDR snap.

The set also looks very clean with regular HD in SDR. Decent motion processing makes it a good option for sports fans. 

You might want to watch where you sit though, there’s a loss of contrast and colour intensity when viewed from an angle, as you might expect from a VA panel. The screen is also quite reflective.

Sound Quality

• Onkyo designed speakers
• Dolby Atmos over eARC
• DTS Virtual:X

The TV sound system is stereo, with downward firing speakers developed by Onkyo, powered by 30W of amplification. The set recognises Dolby Atmos content, although doesn’t really have the hardware to do much with it, beyond pumping the codec out over eARC. There is also DTS Virtual:X processing available, which goes someway to enlarging the set’s own soundstage. 

As an audio system, it’s fine for everyday use, however it is worth adding an external speaker package at some point.

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