The TCL QM8/QM850G QLED is TCL's 2023 flagship model. It's a Mini LED QLED TV equipped with a backlight capable of very high levels of brightness in both HDR and SDR and comes with a local dimming feature that has up to 2300 dimming zones in its bigger sizes. It's capable of doing up to 144Hz at 1440p and 4k or up to 240Hz at 1080p, supports every variable refresh rate (VRR) technology, and comes with TCL's Game Master overlay, which gives gamers quick access to a plethora of gaming-oriented features. It's also one of the first TVs to receive the IMAX Enhanced Certification. The TV supports DTS and Dolby advanced audio formats through its eARC HDMI port and also supports advanced video formats, particularly Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It comes with the popular Google TV Smart OS, which is intuitive and easy to use, and it works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Homekit smart assistants. The TV is available in 4 sizes; 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch, and a huge 98-inch size.
Our Verdict
The TCL QM8 is a great TV overall. It's a fantastic gaming TV as it supports up to 4k @ 144Hz (with some caveats), is compatible with every variable refresh rate (VRR) technology for nearly tear-free gaming, and its brightness is stellar in both SDR and HDR so all games look bright and vibrant. It also has incredibly low input lag in Game Mode. Its response time is also excellent, which is great for games but also for sports, as any fast-moving action is mostly blur-free. HDR content looks amazing on the TCL, as its HDR peak brightness is extremely high. The TV's contrast is excellent, so HDR movies look punchy and vivid in a dark room. Unfortunately, the TV's viewing angle is disappointing, so it's not great for watching sports and TV shows with many people sitting around it.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Outstanding contrast and black uniformity with local dimming enabled.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Amazing response time for blur-free action, even if it behaves erratically.
- Inadequate viewing angle.
The TCL QM8 is a very good TV to watch TV shows on. It has outstanding reflection handling and incredible SDR peak brightness, so you can watch your shows in the middle of the sunniest days with every single light on, and content still looks vibrant. Unfortunately, the TV's viewing angle is disappointing, as the image isn't consistent as you watch it from the sides, so it's not a good choice if you like to watch shows with many people sitting around the TV. Also, the TV's sharpness processing when upscaling lower-resolution content is only decent, so TV shows don't look their best after being upscaled to the TV's native 4k resolution. Fortunately, its low-quality content smoothing is very good, so TV shows watched at high resolutions from streaming services look quite good.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Automatically removes 24p judder from any source.
- Inadequate viewing angle.
The TCL QM8 is a very good TV for watching sports with friends. It has outstanding reflection handling and incredible SDR peak brightness, so any sport looks vibrant even when watched during the brightest days. The TV's response time is excellent, so fast-moving sports are blur-free, helping you focus on the action. Unfortunately, while the TCL has good gray uniformity, it does have a noticeable dirty screen effect, which is bothersome in sports with large areas of bright color, like hockey. Furthermore, the TV's viewing angle is disappointing, so your friends won't see a consistent image when watching the game from the side of the TV.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Amazing response time for blur-free action, even if it behaves erratically.
- Inadequate viewing angle.
The TCL QM8 is an amazing TV for gaming. Its contrast in Game Mode is superb, so games look detailed and punchy even when played in a dark room. Even when a few lights are on, the TV's stellar SDR peak brightness and reflection handling mean it's bright and vibrant, with no visible reflections. It has exceptionally low input lag in Game Mode, so your inputs are fast and responsive. Finally, its response time is excellent, so fast action is free of excessive motion blur.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Remarkably low input lag in Game Mode.
- Outstanding contrast and black uniformity with local dimming enabled.
- Amazing response time for blur-free action, even if it behaves erratically.
- Has an excellent array of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth features, like up to 4k @ 144Hz support and VRR.
The TCL QM8 is an excellent TV for watching movies in a dark room. Its contrast is fantastic, helped by an excellent local dimming feature, leading to stellar black uniformity. The TCL's HDR peak brightness is incredible; even when its Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL) dims the TV, it's still extremely bright. The TV does a very good job of smoothing out low-quality content, so HDR movies from streaming services are free of macro-blocking in dark scenes. Unfortunately, the TV isn't accurate in SDR without calibration, struggling with accurate color representation.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Outstanding contrast and black uniformity with local dimming enabled.
- Automatically removes 24p judder from any source.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
The TCL QM8 is an outstanding TV to play the latest AAA titles. It's capable of outputting up to 4k @ 144Hz (with some caveats) or 1080p @ 240Hz (with resolution halving), and it supports variable refresh rate (VRR) technology for nearly tear-free gaming. Its contrast in Game Mode is incredible, helped by a fantastic local dimming feature and truly remarkable HDR peak brightness. This makes this TV an incredible choice for both dark room HDR gaming and bright room gaming with the help of its outstanding reflection handling. Even if it varies with the frame rate, the TV's response time is excellent overall, so your games are blur-free. Finally, its input lag is exceptionally low, so your inputs are very responsive.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Remarkably low input lag in Game Mode.
- Outstanding contrast and black uniformity with local dimming enabled.
- Amazing response time for blur-free action, even if it behaves erratically.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
- Has an excellent array of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth features, like up to 4k @ 144Hz support and VRR.
The TCL QM8 is an excellent choice to use as a PC monitor, although perhaps a bit on the bigger side as its smallest available model is 65". The TV's inadequate viewing angle doesn't help this, so if you sit close to such a big TV, the image is washed out on the sides. Thankfully the TV is incredibly bright in SDR and HDR and has remarkable reflection handling, so it looks very bright even in a well-lit office. Its response time is also excellent, so moving windows around won't result in excessive blurring. Unfortunately, you can't have both chroma 4:4:4 and Game Mode simultaneously, so you have to choose between the text clarity of 4:4:4 or the lowest input lag possible, but luckily the TV's input lag is fast enough for desktop use in the 'PC' Picture Mode.
- Exceptionally bright in HDR and SDR.
- Outstanding contrast and black uniformity with local dimming enabled.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Amazing response time for blur-free action, even if it behaves erratically.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
- Has an excellent array of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth features, like up to 4k @ 144Hz support and VRR.
- Inadequate viewing angle.
- Has issues when connected to an NVIDIA graphics card.
- Can't have both chroma 4:4:4 and Game Mode enabled at the same time.
Changelog
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Updated Jan 23, 2025:
We mentioned the newly reviewed Hisense U9N in the Contrast section of this review.
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Updated Oct 16, 2024:
We changed the TV's Native Refresh Rate to match its maximum refresh rate at its native resolution in the Variable Refresh Rate section of this review.
- Updated Jul 16, 2024: Mentioned the newly reviewed TCL QM8/QM851G QLED in the Contrast section of this review.
- Updated Jun 25, 2024: We retested the TV's Upscaling: Sharpness Processing and PQ EOTF Tracking after firmware update V295. We've updated the photos, scores, and text in those sections. We also updated some text throughout the article to reflect the new changes.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 65-inch TCL QM8 (65QM850G), and these results are also valid for the 75-inch, 85-inch, and 98-inch models. The larger models will perform similarly, although the 75-inch and 85-inch panels have better dark scene performance than the 65-inch model due to having more local dimming zones. The TCL QM8 is currently only available in North America; in Europe, TCL will be releasing the TCL C845, which is a completely different model and not a variant of the QM8.
Note: TCL hasn't yet confirmed the number of dimming zones of each model size, but the numbers listed here represent what they're currently believed to be.
| Size | Model | Dimming Zones |
|---|---|---|
| 65" | 65QM850G | 1080 |
| 75" | 75QM850G | 1920 |
| 85" | 85QM850G | 2300 |
| 98" | 98QM850G | 2300 |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2023; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The TCL QM8 is a great TV and one of the brightest TVs we've seen. While it has some peculiar quirks, like its refresh rate functioning in 'brackets' and its inability to have both Game Mode and chroma 4:4:4 simultaneously, it's still a stellar performer overall. It's especially interesting for gamers looking for a big gaming TV, as it's significantly cheaper than other comparable name-brand TVs, like the Samsung QN90C/QN90CD QLED or Samsung QN90B QLED. It is, however, more expensive than the TCL 6 Series/R655 2022 QLED or the Hisense U8/U8H. These two are still better deals than the QM8, except for those looking for absolute brightness at a bargain or for a 98-inch model, which none of those TVs offer. Still, it offers worse image processing than high-end TVs like the Sony X93L, so the Sony is a better choice if you care about upscaling or low-quality content smoothing. The TCL Q7/Q750G QLED is like a significantly dimmer but also significantly cheaper TCL QM8, so it's worth considering if you like the QM8 but find it too expensive.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best TVs, the best QLED TVs, and the best 4k gaming TVs. If you're looking for a new soundbar to pair with a new TV, look up our picks for the best soundbars.
The TCL QM851G is a bit better than the TCL QM850G. The QM851G has better contrast, so it displays deeper blacks in a dark room, with a bit less blooming. The QM851G also gets brighter in HDR, so very bright highlights stand out a bit more on it. Additionally, the QM851G has better pre-calibration SDR accuracy, slightly better upscaling, and its color volume is a bit better. However, the QM850G has better PQ EOTF tracking, so it displays a more accurate image in HDR.
The TCL QM850G is better than the TCL QM751G. The QM850G does most things noticeably better than the QM751G; it has better contrast with local dimming enabled, a brighter presentation in HDR and SDR, is more accurate in SDR prior to calibration, and has much better reflection handling. The QM751G does have a slightly wider viewing angle, but they're both underwhelming in that regard. Overall, the older 2023 QM850G is still a notably better product than the newer yet lower-end QM751G.
The Hisense U8N and the TCL QM850G are similar TVs, but the Hisense is better overall. Both TVs have outstanding contrast and black uniformity, but the Hisense takes it to the next level, so it displays deeper blacks that are approaching OLED territory. Both TVs get incredibly bright, but the Hisense has the edge in reflection handling, so it's a bit better suited for a bright room. The Hisense also has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for 4k over-the-air.
The LG C4 OLED is better than the TCL QM850G, but they excel in different ways. The LG is a dark room standout due to its nearly infinite contrast with no blooming or lighting zone transitions. It's also better for gaming due to its near-instant response time, lower input lag, and four full HDMI 2.1 ports with up to 4k @ 144Hz support; the TCL is limited to two 4k @ 144Hz HDMI 2.1 ports. The LG is also better for a wide seating arrangement due to its vastly wider viewing angle. However, the TCL is much brighter than the LG; it pops even in the brightest of rooms, while you'll want to turn off the lights to get the most out of the OLED.
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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