The TCL R745 QLED is a great 4k TV that's only available in an 85 inch model. It's the mid-range model in TCL's XL lineup that they released in 2021 and only has three TVs. The larger size provides a bigger option compared to TCL's past models. It performs well in dark environments because it has a VA panel with a high contrast ratio to display deep blacks, but even though it has a full-array local dimming feature, it's mediocre and causes blooming around bright objects. If you want to use it in a well-lit room, it gets bright enough to combat glare, but its reflection handling is just decent. It has a few extra gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR) support, a quick response time, and relatively low input lag, but it lacks HDMI 2.1 inputs, so it's not future-proof for gaming with the PS5 or Xbox Series X.
Our Verdict
The TCL 85R745 is great for most uses. It's great for watching movies in dark rooms because it has a VA panel that produces deep blacks, but its local dimming feature is mediocre and causes a ton of blooming. It's good for watching sports or shows in bright rooms because it has fantastic peak brightness, but its reflection handling is just decent, and it has narrow viewing angles. It's great for gaming, either in SDR or HDR, because it has a quick response time, low input lag, and variable refresh rate (VRR) support, and it gets bright enough to make highlights pop in HDR.
- VA panel with high native contrast.
- High real scene peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Excellent response time.
- 120Hz panel with VRR support.
- Mediocre local dimming feature causes blooming.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- No HDMI 2.1 inputs.
The TCL 85R745 is great for watching movies in dark rooms. It has a VA panel with a high native contrast ratio to display deep blacks. It has a full-array local dimming feature that improves the contrast, but it's mediocre overall and causes too much blooming around bright objects. On the plus side, the TV removes 24p judder from any source and doesn't have any upscaling issues.
- VA panel with high native contrast.
- No trouble upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Removes 24p judder from any content.
- Mediocre local dimming feature causes blooming.
The TCL 85R745 is good for watching TV shows in bright rooms. It has fantastic peak brightness, and even though its reflection handling is just decent, visibility shouldn't be an issue. It doesn't have any trouble upscaling lower-resolution content, and the Roku TV platform has many streaming services available to download. Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not an ideal choice for wide seating arrangements.
- No trouble upscaling lower-resolution content.
- High real scene peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Reflection handling is just decent.
The TCL 85R745 is good for watching sports in a well-lit environment. Visibility shouldn't be an issue as it gets bright enough to combat glare, but it gets less bright with larger areas of uniform color, like on a hockey rink. Motion looks good as it has an excellent response time, but you may notice black smearing with darker objects. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks inaccurate from the sides.
- No trouble upscaling lower-resolution content.
- High real scene peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Excellent response time.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Less bright with large areas of uniform color, like in sports or web pages.
The TCL 85R745 is great for gaming. It has a 120Hz panel and an excellent response time for smooth motion, but you may notice black smearing in dark scenes. Input lag is higher than the competition, but it's still low overall. It even has VRR support to reduce screen tearing, but with HDMI 2.0 inputs, 4k gaming is limited to 60Hz. Lastly, it has a VA panel with a high contrast ratio if you want to game in the dark, but the local dimming feature is mediocre.
- VA panel with high native contrast.
- Excellent response time.
- 120Hz panel with VRR support.
- Objectively low input lag.
- Mediocre local dimming feature causes blooming.
- Some black smearing with darker transitions.
- No HDMI 2.1 inputs.
The TCL 85R745 is great for watching HDR movies. It has impressive dark room performance thanks to the high native contrast ratio and the local dimming feature that improves it. However, the local dimming causes too much blooming around bright objects, and it can be distracting. The TV displays a wide color gamut for HDR content, and it gets bright enough to make highlights stand out.
- VA panel with high native contrast.
- High real scene peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Displays wide color gamut.
- Mediocre local dimming feature causes blooming.
The TCL 85R745 is great for HDR gaming. It has great gaming features like a 120Hz panel and VRR support. It also has an excellent response time and low input lag for a smooth and responsive gaming experience. HDR content looks great because it displays deep blacks, has a wide color gamut, and gets very bright in HDR. Sadly, the local dimming feature is mediocre and causes too much blooming around bright objects.
- VA panel with high native contrast.
- High real scene peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Excellent response time.
- 120Hz panel with VRR support.
- Mediocre local dimming feature causes blooming.
- Some black smearing with darker transitions.
- No HDMI 2.1 inputs.
The TCL 85R745 is great to use as a PC monitor. It performs well in bright spaces as it has decent reflection handling and fantastic overall peak brightness, but large areas, like on a webpage, are dimmer. It displays proper chroma 4:4:4, but due to its large size, pixel density is low, and you'll need to increase the scaling. Also, it has narrow viewing angles, so the edges of the screen will appear darker if you sit too close.
- High real scene peak brightness in SDR and HDR.
- Excellent response time.
- 120Hz panel with VRR support.
- Objectively low input lag.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Reflection handling is just decent.
- Less bright with large areas of uniform color, like in sports or web pages.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 08, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 17, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 85 inch TCL R745 (85R745), the only size available for this model. It's part of TCL's XL lineup, which features three 85 inch TVs, including the entry-level TCL 4 Series, this one, and a yet-to-be-released 8k Mini LED TV.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their TCL 85R745 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit was manufactured in May 2021. There are two labels on this unit. You can see the main label here and the manufacturing date here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The TCL 85R745 is a great TV available in a larger size, and it provides good value for its price. Picture quality is impressive thanks to the high contrast and fantastic peak brightness, but its local dimming feature is mediocre. It's a good choice if you want it for streaming content, but it's not future-proof for gaming as it lacks HDMI 2.1 inputs, which is disappointing for a higher-end 4k TV in 2021.
Also see our recommendations for the best 80-82-85 inch TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best Roku TVs.
The TCL R635 and the TCL R745 QLED are both very good TVs. While the R635 is available in 55- to 75-inch sizes, the R745 is only available in an 85-inch model. They're similar overall, but the R745 is slightly better in a few areas, such as HDR peak brightness, gradient handling, and response time. However, the R635 has much better speakers, so sound is better without needing a receiver.
The Hisense U8G is better overall than the TCL R745 QLED. They each have a VA panel with high contrast, but the Hisense has a much better local dimming feature that helps it produce deeper blacks. The Hisense has more gaming features like HDMI 2.1 inputs, while the TCL is limited to HDMI 2.0. Even though the TCL gets brighter, the Hisense is a better choice for well-lit rooms because it has much better reflection handling. Lastly, the Hisense is available in 55 and 65 inch sizes, but the TCL is available in a larger 85 inch size.
The TCL R745 QLED and the Sony X900H are both great TVs. They're each available in 85 inch models and have VA panels with high contrast. They both have local dimming features, but it's better on the Sony because there's less blooming. The Sony is future-proof because it has HDMI 2.1 inputs, which the TCL doesn't, allowing you to play 4k games up to 120fps. The TCL displays a wider color gamut and gets much brighter in HDR, making highlights pop.
The Sony X90J and the TCL R745 QLED are two great TVs with a few differences. The Sony is available in several sizes, from 50 to 75 inches, but the TCL is only available in an 85 inch size. They each have a local dimming feature, but the one on the Sony is more effective. The TCL gets brighter and displays a wider color gamut for HDR, but the Sony has better gradient handling. The TCL is limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth while the Sony has HDMI 2.1 inputs for high-frame-rate gaming.
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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