TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED TV Review

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED sits higher up in the lineup than the TCL 5 Series/S546 2021 QLED, so it has more features and better performance. The main differences are that the R646 has Mini LED backlighting and has HDMI 2.1 inputs, allowing you to play higher frame rate games than the S546. The local dimming features perform similarly as they raise the black level in real content, but there's less blooming on the R646. The R646 also gets brighter and has much better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit rooms. The built-in speakers are also much better on the R646, but that won't make a difference if you get a soundbar or receiver anyways.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED is better than the Hisense U7H. The TCL delivers much better picture quality overall, with better uniformity, higher contrast, and better reflection handling, so it looks better in both bright and dark rooms. The TCL also has a much faster response time, making it a better choice for gamers, as there's less blur behind fast-moving objects. The TCL also has much better sound quality, with less distortion and better frequency response, and it gets significantly louder than the Hisense.

The Hisense U6G and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are both great TVs. They have similar characteristics, but there are a few differences between them. The TCL has Mini LED backlighting that allows it to get much brighter, especially in HDR, making highlights pop more. They each have decent local dimming features, but the one on the Hisense does a better job at displaying deeper blacks than on the TCL. The Hisense also doesn't have issues upscaling 480p content, which the TCL has issues. The main advantage the TCL has over the Hisense is a 120Hz panel with HDMI 2.1 inputs and VRR support, none of which the Hisense has.

The LG CX OLED is better overall than the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED, but they use different panel technologies, each with advantages and disadvantages. The LG has an OLED panel with a near-infinite contrast, perfect black uniformity, and wide viewing angles. On the other hand, the TCL uses an LED panel that gets much brighter and doesn't suffer from the risk of permanent burn-in. Even though they each have HDMI 2.1 inputs and VRR support, the LG has a wider VRR range that allows it to go below 20Hz. The LG also has a much quicker response time for smoother motion.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED and the Sony X90J are both great TVs. They each have a VA panel with a high contrast, and even though the Mini LED local dimming feature on the TCL does a better job at improving the contrast on our checkerboard pattern, the local dimming on the Sony performs better overall. The TCL gets brighter and has much better reflection handling, making it a better choice in well-lit rooms. It also has more gaming features like FreeSync VRR support, but the Sony is G-SYNC compatible. The Sony has better color accuracy, and it does a much better job at upscaling 480p content, so it's better for watching DVDs.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED is a better TV than the Hisense U6GR. The TCL gets much brighter both in SDR and HDR, and combined with its better reflection handling, visibility isn't an issue in well-lit rooms. It also has a few more gaming features like HDMI 2.1 inputs, a 120Hz panel, and a quicker response time, but they both have VRR support. Even though the TCL has Mini LED backlighting, its local dimming feature isn't better than the one on the Hisense, and it raises the black levels more on the TCL. Sadly, neither TV is good for watching DVDs because they each have the same problem with 480p content stretched out and not upscaled properly.

The LG C1 OLED is much better than the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED. The LG has a near-infinite contrast ratio, resulting in deep inky blacks in a dark room with no distracting blooming around bright objects. The LG also has much better motion handling than the TCL because it has a near-instantaneous response time. The TCL gets a lot brighter in SDR, meaning it can handle more glare. However, it has worse picture quality overall.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED is better overall than the Sony X85J. The TCL has more features like Mini LED backlighting to make it brighter and a full-array local dimming feature, which the Sony doesn't have. The TCL also has better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit environments. They each have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and both have VRR support, but the TCL has FreeSync support while the Sony is G-SYNC compatible.

The Samsung Q80/Q80T QLED and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are both great. They have similar panel types, but the TCL has a better native contrast because the Samsung uses the 'Ultra Viewing Angle' technology to improve the viewing angles at the cost of the contrast. Still, they each have decent local dimming features and very good gray uniformity, making them great for watching movies. They have similar gaming features with HDMI 2.1 inputs and VRR support, but the VRR range is wider on the Samsung because it can drop below 20Hz.

The Samsung QN90A QLED is better overall than the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED. They each have Mini LED backlighting, but the full-array local dimming feature on the Samsung has more dimming zones, so it produces deeper blacks in real content and has less blooming. It also has wider viewing angles thanks to Samsung's 'Ultra Viewing Angle' technology, but that means the TCL has a better native contrast ratio. The Samsung gets much brighter, especially in HDR, so it makes highlights pop more. TCL has one more HDMI 2.1 input compared to the Samsung, and even though it also has VRR support, its refresh rate range is more narrow than the one on the Samsung.

The Sony X900H and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are two great TVs. The TCL features Mini LED that allows it to get brighter and, combined with the better reflection handling, is a better choice for well-lit rooms. Despite the Mini LED backlighting, the Sony has a better local dimming feature because it doesn't raise the black levels like on the TCL. They both have similar gaming features with HDMI 2.1 inputs, a quick response time, and low input lag. Both TVs have VRR support, but you have to update the Sony to receive it.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED and the Hisense U7G are both great TVs. The TCL is a flagship 4k TV, so it's better in a few areas, like its higher HDR peak brightness. The TCL has Mini LED backlighting, but the local dimming feature on each are both decent. The TCL gets brighter in SDR and has better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit rooms. On the other hand, the Hisense has a wider VRR range, and it doesn't have any issues displaying 480p content like the TCL.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED and the Hisense H9G are both great. They each have VA panels that display deep blacks, but the local dimming feature on the Hisense is much better at improving the picture quality in dark scenes with minimal blooming. Motion looks smoother on the Hisense thanks to the quicker response time, but the TCL has more gaming features like two HDMI 2.1 inputs and VRR support, meaning you can use the current-gen gaming consoles to their full capabilities. The Hisense is a better choice for watching DVDs because it doesn't have issues upscaling lower-resolution content the way the TCL has.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED is better than the TCL 5 Series/S535 2020 QLED. The R646 is a higher-end version, so it has more features like HDMI 2.1 inputs, VRR support, and a 120Hz panel for a superior gaming experience. It uses Mini LED backlighting that lets it get much brighter, especially in HDR, so highlights pop more. They each have decent local dimming features that perform similarly to each other because they raise the black levels in dark scenes to reduce blooming, but that comes at the cost of not having deep blacks.

The TCL 6 Series/R648 2021 8k QLED and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are part of the same 6 Series lineup, but they're different TVs. The R648 is an 8k model with Roku TV, while the R646 is a 4k TV with Google built-in. They each have VA panels with high contrast, and even though their local dimming features are both decent, they perform differently. The one on the R648 crushes blacks with minimal blooming and the one on the R646 helps brighten highlights, but it doesn't improve the contrast with real content much. They both don't upscale 480p well, but that's because the R646 can't display the proper aspect ratio, and the R648 is just bad at it.

The Sony X95J and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are both great LED TVs. The Sony is a flagship model with Sony's 'X-Wide Angle' technology that allows it to have much better viewing angles than on the TCL. Even though the TCL has Mini LED backlighting, the local dimming is much better on the Sony because it improves the picture quality in dark scenes. Each TV has HDMI 2.1 inputs for gaming, but the TCL has lower input lag.

The Samsung QN85A QLED and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are both great TVs, and the best one for you depends on your specific viewing conditions. The TCL has much deeper blacks, resulting in significantly better picture quality in a dark room, with less blooming around bright objects and very little clouding in dark scenes. The Samsung gets brighter and has improved reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit rooms.

The Sony X950H and the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED are both great TVs. The TCL has a higher contrast ratio than the Sony because the Sony uses viewing angle technology to improve the viewing angles at the cost of the contrast, so the TCL displays deeper blacks. However, the local dimming feature on the Sony still seems to be more effective at improving the picture quality in dark scenes. The Sony has more accurate colors, and it doesn't have issues displaying 480p content like the TCL. However, the TCL comes with more gaming features out-of-the-box like HDMI 2.1 inputs, VRR support, and lower input lag.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED is much better than the Vizio M Series Quantum X 2022. The TCL has much better reflection handling and slightly higher peak brightness, so it's a better choice for a bright room, as glare is less distracting. The TCL also has much better contrast thanks to its Mini LED backlight, resulting in slightly less noticeable blooming around bright objects in dark scenes.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED is much better than the LG QNED80. The TCL delivers significantly better picture quality thanks to its higher contrast, better local dimming, and improved black uniformity. It also gets brighter than the LG, meaning it's the better choice for watching content in well-lit rooms and makes highlights pop more in HDR.

The TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED and the Hisense U9DG each have their own strengths and weaknesses, so the best one for you depends on your usage. The TCL has much better motion handling and lower input lag, so it's better for gaming or watching sports. The Hisense has much better contrast and better local dimming, so it's a better choice for watching movies in a dark room.