Review: TCL QM8 TV

Since the beginning of broadcast, TV brands have been battling for technological supremacy. They were all expensive. From initial tube models to plasmas, LED, and now Mini LED and OLED, you used to have to pay an arm and a leg for a large screen that looked good. (Unless you wanted it in a Michael Scott dinner-party size, of course.)

These days, you really don't have to pay that much. Enthusiasts can shell out for 8K resolution or OLED displays with perfect black levels at extreme sizes, but most people who are just streaming movies, sports, or video games can get a great viewing experience with a mid-tier option like this TCL QM8. Unless you're hoarding an epic 4K Blu-ray collection in the basement or hosting a massive server with lossless rips, you probably won't see much of a difference.

Folks ask me all the time whether they should buy a projector, and the fact is that TVs like this one now compete on size, but offer a much better picture that's much easier to set up and use. If you want a big screen experience at home, start here.

Easy Going

Getting started with TCL's flagship model is just as simple as with any more affordable TCL, which is to say it's dead simple. You unbox the screen (ranging in size from a manageable 65-inch to a gargantuan 98-inch), place it facedown on a table or padded flat surface of capable size, and attach the included pedestal mount. Depending on which size you have, this might take two people or three or four, but it's really not that hard. If you're wall mounting, make sure you mount it to a stud, or several. This isn't a light TV.

I personally enjoy the fact that the QM8 model isn't as thin as higher-end TVs from LG, Samsung, and others. It makes it easier to carry and mount without feeling like I'm going to bend it in half, especially at the larger 85-inch size of our review unit.

Plugging in the TV and popping a pair of batteries into the lengthy rectangular remote, you'll find yourself greeted by the Google TV interface, which quickly enables Android users and Google account owners to log in to a smorgasbord of streaming services. If you can't find it here, it's probably pretty shady. (You can also cast using the TV's built-in Google Chromecast and AirPlay functionality.)

Other devices are extremely easy to setup with the TV too. I plugged in a soundbar, the KEF LS50 Wireless II (8/10, WIRED Recommends); my computer; and a Nintendo Switch (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and all of them performed flawlessly. Especially impressive is the 144-Hz refresh rate at 4K and 1440p resolutions with really low (sub-10-millisecond) input lag for instant onscreen action. It made playing fast-paced games like Assetto Corsa Competizione and F1 2023 particularly gorgeous when sim racing via my PC.

Sitting Pretty

The QM8 is at the top of TCL's 2023 TV lineup (the 2024 models have been announced but likely won't show up on shelves until fall of this year), which means it has all the modern bells and whistles you can expect from the mid-tier TV manufacturer. It has Mini LED backlighting that gets shockingly bright for the price (2000 nits peak, according to TCL), which makes everything from the blues of the skies to the bright-red Netflix logo really pop, especially in darker spaces.

There are 2300 zones of local dimming to provide excellent black levels and contrast—especially essential when watching content on larger screens at higher resolution. The TV offers Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range and all the associated bright colors that come with them. The TV is noticeably more muted when rendering more sepia-toned content like Apple TV+'s Masters of the Air, but it can really pop when showing football or soccer games, or car races with bright-colored models.

It compares pretty directly on specs with the more expensive Samsung QN90C (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and Hisense U8K (8/10, WIRED Recommends), though the TCL is brighter than the Hisense and has better black levels than the Samsung to my eyes. In particular, Samsung has made Mini LED backlighting something of a hallmark on its higher-end TVs. But even compared to Samsung, the TCL is a bit more intense in its highlights overall, and thus less color accurate.

Even if TCL does trade perfect color accuracy for vibrance and brightness, it's a fun trip for your eyes (and not a disorienting one). It looks natural enough, and it doesn't make your eyes bleed with highlights like some other models with Mini LED backlighting (presumably to contrast themselves from darker OLED displays).

It should also be mentioned that this TCL was very reliable. I spent a few months using it as my primary TV during paternity leave, and it never failed me once. I never even needed to restart it. TCL's built-in processing could easily tell when I switched between sources, and would apply the relevant settings (game mode for PC streaming, film mode when I plugged in a Roku, sports mode for streaming games) without me asking.

It has to be said that bitrate does very much matter on big screens and projectors. Watch content on a bad streaming service or in low quality on YouTube, and you'll almost certainly see the blocky spots in the background that you were easily able to ignore on smaller screens. This isn't the TV's fault, but is perhaps more incentive to buy a 4K Blu-ray player (or another excuse to buy a PS5). Also, as with most TVs, you'll want a soundbar or surround sound system. The speakers sound OK, but not great.

A Projector Replacement

These TVs are large! As you can see from my photos, I set up the QM8 in front of my wall-mounted projector screen (albeit about a foot lower due to my TV cabinet) and it takes up a noticeable chunk of the 120-inch screen behind it. If I had got the larger 98-inch model, I would hardly see a difference.

That's important to note because screen size is essentially the only benefit that a projector at any cost can offer over this Mini LED screen. TVs are brighter, don't require perfectly dark rooms, have better contrast and better highlights, and are typically better for gaming. If you aren't outfitting a fully-fledged home theater, a model like this one is almost definitely a better choice.

One downside of this TCL versus other models, though, is viewing angle. It's hilarious to say that an 85-inch TV has a limited viewing angle, but if you have a hot-dog-shaped room and are sitting way off to the side, the colors do get a bit iffy. Do with that information what you will, hot-dog-shaped-room-owners.

If I just wanted to watch shows from time to time, a more affordable screen like the TCL Q7 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) would probably do the job, albeit with worse gaming features and slightly worse color. But as a TV and film nerd, I've really enjoyed my time with this model. If I were outfitting my own home theater or larger living room and didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on an OLED from LG or Sony, this is probably what I'd buy myself.