The TCL 8 Series 2019/Q825 QLED is a great 4k TV that performs well for most uses. It comes with Roku TV built-in, and it stands out among LED TVs thanks to its impressive HDR performance. Highlights pop as they should because of the TV's wide color gamut and high peak brightness in HDR. It also has an exceptional contrast ratio and local dimming to help produce deep inky blacks that look amazing in the dark. It gets very bright and has good reflection handling, so it can easily overcome glare in well-lit rooms. Its response time is also very good, so motion looks clear in fast-moving content. However, it doesn't support variable refresh rate (VRR) to reduce screen tearing in games, and while its input lag is decent, it may be too high for competitive gamers. Unfortunately, it also has narrow viewing angles, making content look washed out from the side.
Our Verdict
The TCL 8 Series is a great overall TV. It performs well in both bright and dark rooms thanks to its high peak brightness and outstanding contrast ratio, respectively. Motion also looks clear thanks to the fast response time, which is good for fast-moving content like sports or video games. Unfortunately, it doesn't have VRR, and its input lag is higher than some TVs, so competitive gamers may be disappointed. On the upside, HDR content looks great thanks to the high HDR brightness and wide color gamut.
- Exceptional peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Outstanding contrast ratio and black uniformity.
- Fast response time with minimal motion blur.
- Local dimming crushes highlights in dark scenes.
- Narrow viewing angles.
The TCL 8 Series is impressive for movies. It has an exceptionally high contrast ratio, making blacks look deep and inky in the dark. It has an okay local dimming feature, but it can crush small highlights in dark scenes. Black uniformity is fantastic, though, and the TV has no issues upscaling lower-resolution content like DVDs or Blu-rays.
- Upscales content without issue.
- Fantastic black uniformity.
- Outstanding contrast ratio.
- Local dimming crushes highlights in dark scenes.
Watching TV shows on the TCL 8 Series is a good experience. You can place the TV in a bright room as it can handle reflections well and overcomes glare with ease. It upscales lower resolution content well, but it's not the best choice if you have a wide seating arrangement because of its narrow viewing angles. On the upside, the Roku TV smart interface has many of the latest apps available to download.
- Bright enough to overcome glare.
- Upscales content without issue.
- Good reflection handling.
- Poor gray uniformity on dark scenes.
- Narrow viewing angles.
The TCL 8 Series is good for watching sports. It has a fast response time that makes fast-moving content look smooth. It also gets very bright and handles reflections well, so it easily overcomes glare in bright environments. Unfortunately, the TV has some noticeable dirty screen effect, which can be distracting while watching sports. It also has poor viewing angles, so it's not the best for watching with a large group.
- Bright enough to overcome glare.
- Fast response time with minimal motion blur.
- Good reflection handling.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Dirty screen effect can be distracting.
The TCL 8 Series is good for playing video games. It has a decent input lag which should suit most people but may be too high for competitive gamers. The response time is fast, so it displays fast-moving content with minimal blur. It also has a high contrast ratio that produces deep blacks, which is great if you like gaming in the dark. Unfortunately, there are no advanced gaming features like VRR support.
- Outstanding contrast ratio and black uniformity.
- Decent input lag.
- Fast response time with minimal motion blur.
- Poor gray uniformity on dark scenes.
- No VRR support to reduce screen tearing.
The TCL 8 Series delivers an impressive HDR movie experience. It has an exceptional contrast ratio that produces deep uniform blacks in dark rooms, but its local dimming feature tends to crush highlights in dark scenes. On the upside, it has a wide color gamut and a high HDR peak brightness, which produces vivid colors and makes highlights pop in HDR content.
- Outstanding contrast ratio and black uniformity.
- Bright enough to bring out highlights in HDR.
- Wide color gamut.
- Local dimming crushes highlights in dark scenes.
The TCL 8 Series is good for gaming in HDR. It has a decent input lag and a fast response time, delivering a good gaming experience. Its contrast ratio is exceptional, so blacks look deep and inky. It also has a wide color gamut for HDR, and it gets bright enough to bring out highlights in HDR content.
- Bright enough to bring out highlights in HDR.
- Decent input lag.
- Fast response time with minimal motion blur.
- Local dimming crushes highlights in dark scenes.
- No VRR support to reduce screen tearing.
The TCL 8 Series is decent as a PC monitor. It supports most common resolutions and displays proper chroma 4:4:4, so text looks clear. It also has a decent input lag, making for a fairly responsive desktop experience. Unfortunately, it has poor viewing angles, so the image may look washed out at the edges if you sit up close.
- Displays chroma 4:4:4 properly.
- Decent input lag.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- No VRR support to reduce screen tearing.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 10, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 29, 2019: We retested the Q825 on the latest firmware version (9.1.2 build 6471-88), and found that it does have a 120Hz panel, and can interpolate motion up to 120Hz.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65 inch TCL 8 Series 2019 QLED, and we expect our review to be valid for the other available size, the 75 inch 75Q825.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their TCL Q825 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests like the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | US Model |
| 65" | 65Q825 |
| 75" | 75Q825 |
You can see the label of the 65Q825 we reviewed here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The TCL 8 Series Q825 is an impressive TV that delivers great performance in most uses. It stands out in its HDR performance with one of the highest HDR peak brightness levels among TVs we've tested. See our recommendations for the best TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best HDR gaming TVs.
The TCL 8 Series 2019/Q825 QLED is a marginally better TV than the Sony X900F for mixed usage, though the two perform very similarly overall. The TCL has a better contrast ratio, despite its slightly worse local dimming feature. It also can get brighter to help it combat glare, and it gets brighter for HDR content. The black uniformity on the TCL is a lot better, and it has a slightly wider color gamut. On the other hand, the Sony has less noticeable dirty screen effect, handles reflections better during dark scenes, and has significantly more accurate colors out-of-the-box, though this can vary between units.
The TCL 8 Series 2019/Q825 QLED and the TCL R635 are similarly performing TVs. That said, the R635 has more advanced features, like VRR support and eARC capability. It also has a lower input lag and a faster response time, so it's a better option for gaming. On the other hand, there's a lot more backlight bleed with the R635, causing issues with black uniformity; however, this can vary between units.
The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2019 is a bit better than the TCL 8 Series 2019/Q825 QLED. The Vizio has a better local dimming feature that doesn't crush details in dark scenes. The Vizio also has better reflection handling, which is great for watching in well-lit rooms, and thanks to its faster response time, it displays fast-moving content with less motion blur.
The Samsung Q70R and the TCL 8 Series 2019/Q825 QLED are very similarly performing TVs. While the TCL is better for HDR content as it can get brighter and has a wider color gamut, the Samsung is better for sports and gaming thanks to its motion handling and lower input lag. The Samsung's colors are also significantly more accurate out of the box, but the TCL's built-in speakers are better.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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