TCL's new Mini LED TVs offer blazing brightness on a budget

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5,000 nits. That's the incredible peak brightness of TCL's latest flagship QM8 Mini LED TV, and there's no better example of how the company is hoping to stand out from competitors like Samsung, LG, Hisense, Sony, and others. That's just on a different level than what OLED can offer. Are we getting to a point where TVs are getting too bright? No such thing, right?

Starting at $1,999.99 for a 65-inch size (and ranging up to an enormous 115-inch model), the QM8 contains thousands of dimming zones — "up to over 5,000," to be specific. Combined with TCL's image processing, the company is confident that people will get an excellent viewing experience from this Mini LED set for significantly less than, say, a top-tier OLED would cost.

Granted, OLED will always win out when it comes to truly perfect blacks and viewing angles. For many home theater enthusiasts, those benefits are worth the premium. And substantial discounts on LG and Samsung OLEDs are common. Target has been clearing out last year's LG stock at fire sale prices lately.

TCL's step-down QM7 is no slouch in the brightness department, either: it can hit a peak of 2,400 nits and still includes TCL's premium features like a variable refresh rate that can be pushed all the way to 240Hz. Both the QM8 and QM7 are what TCL now refers to as "QD-Mini LED," which designates that you're getting the best picture quality that the company is capable of. (The "QD" part stands for quantum dot color.) You can scope out the whole new TCL lineup at this Best Buy link.

From TCL's perspective, "Mini LED" by itself has become meaningless tech jargon since there's no set standard for what it actually means within the industry. It's not just about the size or number of dimming zones. The algorithms that control those dimming zones are just as important to avoid crushed blacks and other image issues.

Giant-sized screens are another focus this year. Consumer buying habits are trending bigger and bigger in recent years. An 85-inch TV is basically the new 65-inch, haven't you heard? Aside from the jumbo QM8, TCL is also offering three different 98-inch TVs throughout its lineup. Are they cheap? Absolutely not. The 98-inch QM8 is a penny shy of $8,000. But if you've got the space and the money, they might be preferable to a projector.

Even the more basic, budget-priced S5 series is 25 percent brighter than last year's model. It's natively a 60Hz panel, but TCL's software trickery can push it to 120Hz for gaming. And you're still getting other features like the new "enhanced dialog" mode to help voices cut through clearer. The company's 2024 lineup continues to run Google TV software, with all Q-series and S-series TVs set to begin shipping imminently.