TCL 75-Inch QM85 QLED 4K Smart QD-Mini LED TV with Google TV (75QM851G, 2024 Model) Q75H Q Class 5.1.2 Channel Soundbar with Dolby Atmos

I bought the 75-inch model (2024 model) two months ago. For months, I read professional reviews online, and couldn’t decide among this, the Hisense U8, and (going a step up) the LG C4. I eventually ruled out the C4 because the extra $800 or so for the 77-inch model just wasn’t worth it for whatever minor difference I might actually notice in contrast/blooming in certain scenes when I’m watching a movie. I then ruled out the Hisense because the 75-inch model uses a different panel than the other sizes, with worse contrast (although better off-axis viewing).

That left the TCL, which was on my list in the first place for its brightness, fine contrast, and good sound quality. Keep in mind that high brightness does not mean that you’ll just be blinded by light all the time. Rather, certain things are very bright, such as sunsets and headlights, for example. So much so, that it adds almost a 3D aspect to the viewing experience.

I find the picture to be stunning, and easy to dial in. I set it to “movie,” and move the color temperature to “warm.” I turn on the motion control, but adjust only the judder reduction, to 1. I turn on the micro contrast to high as well. To me, that’s the most natural and crisp picture for just about everything. It’s not great at upscaling low bitrate or SD content, but that is not a priority for me anyway. I’ve looked for blooming in many different scenes, and only in the most extreme instances of contrast — with a bright light moving in a pitch-black environment — do I see very minor blooming. You have to be looking for blooming like a hawk though to detect any lack of total blackness in the black areas of the screen. The contrast is striking, the colors look natural, and the picture can be as bright as you need it to be.

I think the sound is great. Booming, even… and the dialogue is crisp and easy to understand when you set it to “voice.” Some reviews say “get a soundbar,” but those reviewers must have very high standards, because I can’t imagine needing more sound, unless you have a massive room or expect to feel like you’re in an IMAX theater. But you may demand more from audio than I do.

The interface for Google TV is very good and responsive, and I don’t notice any lag to speak of. I’ll note that I connect the TV directly with an Ethernet cable just to ensure a constant, fast connection without interference. I just have nothing bad to say about this TV. It looks and sounds great. My last TCL TV was still working fine after seven years, and hopefully this one will too. Worth every penny!

The 5 star reviews have it right. My 65" is very bright in my sunlit room by day, easy on the eyes at night, great colors, responsive software, natural presentation. I've owned a great Panny plasma and a Samsung Qled, and this matches or exceeds them at all their strengths. Sound is pretty good, not great, but natural. Data on TCL reliability is proving to be as good as other big brands, not surprising given their history, scale and manufacturing prowess, so I'm feeling comfortable about that. At the sale price this is hard to criticize,

Purchased the 65" QM8 on Prime day and am not disappointed. The colors on this thing are fantastic. The darks are dark and the colors are vivid. It is the first time I have ever seen skin tones on a tv look like actual skin. The colors are spot on and there is plenty of room for preferential adjustments. The brightness is off the charts but can easily be scaled down if desired.

The sound is good, but not great. It's better than any other TV I've had, but nothing to write home about. I guess it's as good as one can expect coming out of the TV. I hooked my TV up to an old AV receiver instead and get great sound.

Google TV is fine. I keep it in "apps only" mode to avoid all the ads and viewing suggestions that clutter up the screen (though they aren't as bad as some other streaming OS's). The only problem is that the DirecTV streaming app is also nearly inoperable due to its lag (up to 30 secs per button press), but all other apps are peppy and responsive. This is a longtime known issue for DirecTV from what I understand. For the few times I use DirecTV, I flip over to an old, cheap Roku I had sitting around.

I like the integrated ASTC 3.0 tuner. In my area, there are 6 NextGen stations that I view. Flipping to the OTA tv is easy as a single button press and OTA is nicely integrated into the TV. Also, using the Sofabaton U2 universal remote, I can type in channel numbers when viewing OTA, but the TCL does not accept the "." button for channels like 2.1. It's weird that the TCL tv accepts channel numbers but the TCL remote itself doesn't have any numeric buttons.

One small gripe I have is that the remote seems to be both partially Bluetooth and IR. Programming the universal remote, I had to combine the Bluetooth and IR functions in order to get it functioning properly. Not a big deal once I figured that out, though it took me some time.

Overall, I love this tv and am very happy with this purchase and would make the same purchase again.