[Review] [Review] TCL 50" C716 QLED 4k TV

[DesiTechDude]

Tested on firmware: V389

Overall:
Good TV with an exceptional panel for it's price, but comes with few major caveats it being a cheaper model

Color:
SDR: Out of box SDR color accuracy is poor, SDR color volume also seems to be low, overly saturated by default. This is mostly caused by backlight eco mode, turning it off improves color alot, would recommend keeping it off. Native color profile also helps

HDR: HDR color accuracy and color volume is amazing, white point is nearly perfect with excellent dynamic range. HDR / Dolby Vision videos on Youtube and games look really good

For some strange reason Netflix is not showing proper HDR; even when Dolby Vision tag is displayed. This is apparent from colors. Apparently Netflix's mastering of HDR content is pretty poor as same videos / clips on youtube HDR / Dolby Vision show significantly better

Gradient handling is okayish, can see minimal banding

Brightness & Panel Uniformity:
Brightness in HDR is mediocre, details don't pop as they should but images still pack a punch due amazing colors
Backlight bleed is minimal, slight darkening in edges and some foggy areas in upper left, unnoticeable during content play

Motion:
Motion handling is not good, there is visible ghosting when navigating fire tv menus but during gaming it's a bit better; nothing spectacular. Slight flicker in some content. VRR is missing, which is expected at this price range; but 120Hz is also missing which is a loss imo

Viewing Angles:
Viewing angles are poor, sitting at 8 ft away from tv the image starts to wash out even if I move more than 3 ft away from dead center

Audio:
Audio on built-in speakers is decent but there's ~100ms audio delay on internal speakers which is annoying, same issue happens even if I use optical out

System & UI:
UI is pretty laggy compared to LG etc., processor being so slow that Kodi is practically unusable at 4k. But, this is a non-issue for me as I use Fire TV mostly. Even with that, TV has restarted multiple times during it's use and YouTube exhibits an annoying bug in HDR whereby TV would intermittently switch in / out of HDR while playing content

Performance with Consoles:
Xbox looks amazing, HDR games like Forza, Doom, TitanFall look absolutely amazing; lack of brightness is felt but that's a given in this price range. Nintendo Switch looks a bit over saturated in SDR by default, but looks amazing nonetheless. 120Hz is missing so that's a huge loss for gaming, do keep this in mind when considering it with next gen consoles

Current Gear, for context:
TVs: LG 55" EG9A7V OLED, TCL 50" C716 (this TV), Samsung 32" CF391 Monitor, Fire TV Stick 4K
HTPC: HP EliteDesk 705 G2 Desktop Mini PC
Audio: Edifier R2000DB, Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X, E1DA PowerDAC V2 amp & few IEMs
Consoles: Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch (w/ Pro Controller and 8BitDo SF30 Pro)
Lappy: MacBook Pro 15, 2017
Phone(s): Samsung Galaxy S8, iPhone SE 2020

 

[Redgamer]

How is your experience with this tv is it reliable there are many negative reviews about tcl on thier facebook page i was looking to buy this for ps5 i know it doesn't have 120hz but i don't play competitive games and most developers will target 60 fps at 4k.Other ootion is samsung tu 8500 but its expensive low brightness and not qled.

 

[DesiTechDude]

Hey @Redgamer . No problems so far, been using this TV daily for past few months. The only issue is that it's internal processor cannot handle 4k HDR video content properly, runs fine on YouTube but stutters when played via USB or over the network. But I exclusively use FireTV 4k which runs everything perfectly fine.

As for competition, basically you summarized it well. TU8500 has better OS but everything else is worse. Q70T compares well with this model, has worse colors but slightly better brightness & 120Hz. Unfortunately there's no 50" model available here in Pakistan, would have gone for that if it was available here

 

[Wrangler867]

Tested on firmware: V389

Overall:
Good TV with an exceptional panel for it's price, but comes with few major caveats it being a cheaper model

Color:
SDR: Out of box SDR color accuracy is poor, SDR color volume also seems to be low, overly saturated by default. This is mostly caused by backlight eco mode, turning it off improves color alot, would recommend keeping it off. Native color profile also helps

HDR: HDR color accuracy and color volume is amazing, white point is nearly perfect with excellent dynamic range. HDR / Dolby Vision videos on Youtube and games look really good

For some strange reason Netflix is not showing proper HDR; even when Dolby Vision tag is displayed. This is apparent from colors. Apparently Netflix's mastering of HDR content is pretty poor as same videos / clips on youtube HDR / Dolby Vision show significantly better

Gradient handling is okayish, can see minimal banding

Brightness & Panel Uniformity:
Brightness in HDR is mediocre, details don't pop as they should but images still pack a punch due amazing colors
Backlight bleed is minimal, slight darkening in edges and some foggy areas in upper left, unnoticeable during content play

Motion:
Motion handling is not good, there is visible ghosting when navigating fire tv menus but during gaming it's a bit better; nothing spectacular. Slight flicker in some content. VRR is missing, which is expected at this price range; but 120Hz is also missing which is a loss imo

Viewing Angles:
Viewing angles are poor, sitting at 8 ft away from tv the image starts to wash out even if I move more than 3 ft away from dead center

Audio:
Audio on built-in speakers is decent but there's ~100ms audio delay on internal speakers which is annoying, same issue happens even if I use optical out

System & UI:
UI is pretty laggy compared to LG etc., processor being so slow that Kodi is practically unusable at 4k. But, this is a non-issue for me as I use Fire TV mostly. Even with that, TV has restarted multiple times during it's use and YouTube exhibits an annoying bug in HDR whereby TV would intermittently switch in / out of HDR while playing content

Performance with Consoles:
Xbox looks amazing, HDR games like Forza, Doom, TitanFall look absolutely amazing; lack of brightness is felt but that's a given in this price range. Nintendo Switch looks a bit over saturated in SDR by default, but looks amazing nonetheless. 120Hz is missing so that's a huge loss for gaming, do keep this in mind when considering it with next gen consoles

Current Gear, for context:
TVs: LG 55" EG9A7V OLED, TCL 50" C716 (this TV), Samsung 32" CF391 Monitor, Fire TV Stick 4K
HTPC: HP EliteDesk 705 G2 Desktop Mini PC
Audio: Edifier R2000DB, Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X, E1DA PowerDAC V2 amp & few IEMs
Consoles: Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch (w/ Pro Controller and 8BitDo SF30 Pro)
Lappy: MacBook Pro 15, 2017
Phone(s): Samsung Galaxy S8, iPhone SE 2020

I have 3 options in mind:
1. TCL P725
2. Hisense a7400f
3. TCL P716

My use case is:
1. Mostly PS5 Gaming
2. Netflix
3. Cricket (rare)

MEMC is kinda important for me I think because of gaming. I want to have a reasonable gaming experience and from what I have gathered, MEMC is important for that (or not??). Also I would like the input lag to be reasonable.

I went to see all models on display today. The Hisense looked the best (at least better then the P725) to me in terms of colors, image sharpness and quality. The problem with Hisense is that only the 65 inch model has MEMC. This leaves me 2 options of P725 and P716. P725 has VRR and is the newer model with newer android and I'm hoping slightly better processor whereas P716 is QLED but with the disadvantages of no VRR and laggy interface (which is a big no no for me i think due to the gaming aspect). Reading all this what do you think is the best option for me and why?

 

[iampasha]

That's Frankly a lot of compromises for that price tag. I occasionally check tv reviews thinking that now they may be on par with monitors but there's always that small compromises which are only visible with through testing like yours brilliant review. I guess I'll keep gaming on monitors for the time being

 

[DesiTechDude]

Reading all this what do you think is the best option for me and why?

Hey! Good Evening

MEMC is no use in gaming, it increases frame rate of 30/29 fps movies to 60, and they look worse. I have this on my LG and it makes movies look like TV drama serials

As for the models, please ignore P series... That's not qled. Go for C series, the current one C725 or the one I reviewed C716. Hisense model you shared is similar to C series, but might have worse contrast. Do compare before making a decision.

For PS5, you might wanna get a 120Hz TV, but that's only available in significantly higher priced models. But that's one thing that will significantly improve your gaming experience. If you want to test, just hook your monitor up with a 120Hz monitor and see how games look. I believe Ratchet does have a 120Hz mode

 

[DesiTechDude]

That's Frankly a lot of compromises for that price tag. I occasionally check tv reviews thinking that now they may be on par with monitors but there's always that small compromises which are only visible with through testing like yours brilliant review. I guess I'll keep gaming on monitors for the time being

Thank you

I'd say both have their own strengths, monitors tend to focus on higher refresh rate whereas TVs go for better colors. e.g., most of the monitors on market don't support wcg and the ones that do are in the range of 150k to 200k.

I just wish I could buy LG CX at a reasonable price in Pakistan, best of both worlds! Supports every gaming feature like VRR, 120Hz, HDR etc. and is oled so has exceptional colors and contrast!

 

[Simonsayz]

I have 3 options in mind:
1. TCL P725
2. Hisense a7400f
3. TCL P716

what do you think is the best option for me and why?

Auditioned these at Carrefour, A7400F looked slightly better to my eyes, but you need to see it for yourself if it's up to your taste. I would also look into Sony and Samsung's counterparts in the same price range like the X7500H or AU9000. Samsung has 120hz panels, VRR and low input lag in most of its TVs.

 

[DesiTechDude]

... or AU9000. Samsung has 120hz panels ...

Just a word of warning, AU9000's 120Hz mode is simulated, native refresh rate is 60Hz; it's also not QLED so colour depth will take a hit. Samsung's good range is Q series, starting from Q70A, even Q60A does not support native 120Hz

 

[Simonsayz]

Just a word of warning, AU9000's 120Hz mode is simulated, native refresh rate is 60Hz; it's also not QLED so colour depth will take a hit. Samsung's good range is Q series, starting from Q70A, even Q60A does not support native 120Hz

Original Quote" I would also look into Sony and Samsung's counterparts in the same price range like the X7500H or AU9000. (FULL STOP). Samsung has 120Hz panels"
Does not mean AU9000 is 120Hz panel. BTW there is no 120Hz mode on AU9000, Quote from their website: "It can display 120Hz content on a 60Hz panel".