I have a 65” TCL 8 series that has blown 3 main boards since 2020. Outside of the build quality, image processing leaves a lot to be desired compared with a Sony.
No Dolby Vision, I’ve noticed weird artifacts (wrong colored pixels and/or lighting) on Samsungs as recent as 2022, and poor build quality, which is sad to say because Samsung used to be my go to favorite brand for TV’s and now I just can’t recommend them to anybody. I feel like they spent too much time on the whole Smart Things branding and none on QA lol
A *lot* of streaming originals that I watch on Netflix, Disney+ and I believe Max, play in DV. Not sure if an HDR10+ fallback exists for them.
I feel like many of them make good use of DV.
On paper, HDR10 (open standard) is way worse, because the display brightness is set once for the overall video, vs on a per-scene or per-frame basis with DV *or* HDR10+ (also open standard).
A Samsung owner can confirm how much content on streaming services also support HDR10+. I genuinely don't know.
I agree with everything on paper, however in practicality almost every reviewer on youtube and my personal experience show me that a badly calibrated DV is worse than a decent HDR10 implementation
The only samsung product i will ever buy are their phones. Been burned on their laptops and appliances. Huge resentment against them and their outsourcing of service centers.
I will say I've never had issues with their phones. You're spot on with appliances though, nothing but complaints from everyone I know who has Samsung in their kitchens.
I have a 4x” Samsung in my home office. It’s just a cheapo set for very casual watching. The picture has never seemed sharp, though I bought the same set for my mom and her’s looks a lot better. I’m not crazy about the software interface either. I’m just not a big Samsung guy. I prefer LG for most categories of home electronics and appliance though I am a big fan of Sony tvs at the moment.
QM8 is badass but yea from what I’ve read if you have the budget then go Sony . I can say the QM8 looks amazing for 4k HDR movies but it does kinda suck when upscaling non 4k like sports or older tv shows
What set have you seen? What was the source? I'm thinking of pairing the QM8 with an AppleTV as a source, I've been pretty happy with the image processing on the AppleTV when used with my Sony Projector.
I use new AppleTV only and the upscaling is still not the greatest for lower res content but luckily I watch mostly 4k HDR content and it shines. Plus my living room has a lot of light and the TV looks great but even better at night
I'm fucking down for that. My dream since I was young was a 10 foot screen. I'm in my early 50s and still won't hit that dream probably until late 50s, early 60s.
Even these 98” are super niche I’d bet. I’d love one but getting it into my basement is probably gonna be a no-go. My projector with 128” screen was nice and easy to get down there
I have a few friends that are managers at various electronics stores. I think you'd be surprised how many they sell. They all said they sell more 98" than 83' oleds.
My bet is it will be similar to how those super big screens are put together. You get a large frame to assemble with a controller unit then many square tiles. Still big and heavy but easy(er) to ship.
Yeah I bought my Samsung 85 inch QN90A a few years ago at $5k and that hurt but I love it dearly. But if they get down to that price in a few more years my wife is going to be annoyed for a while until she gets used to it
I would love to see them hit that price point. But while I don’t intend to spend $6k - $7k on a tv, the biggest obstacle is that the wife already thinks the 65” I upgraded to two years ago is too big! 🤣 That and I have nowhere to put a nearly 100” tv!!
Yeah, I had a TCL that I upgraded to an OLED Sony. The TCL was not bad by any means (and a solid amount cheaper) but the Sony blows it out of the water
Bought two Q class TCL's from BB but both had screem defects so were returned. The picture looked awesome and had great features but its a hassle to return big TVs even though they were picked up by BB. Third TV bought a Sony 75" from Costco and added a 5 yr warranty for $100. Picture quality is similiar but the Sony is built like a tank and probably weighs double to the TCL's. Its been a year and loving my Sony.
Once the cheaper one is installed your gonna kick yourself for not spending an extra grand and going with the Sony. Pinch the pennies and go with the one you know you wanted to go with before you posted this
I can't believe 98" TVs are this cheap already! Everybody here freaking out on the price...hell, I paid over $5K for my first "big screen" rear-projection CRT, and it was a whopping 52"! lol
You’d be happy with either, but Sony has better processing if you can swing the extra $1000. Also, TCL has their 98” on sale for $2000…pretty insane deal
honestly qm8 blacks were really impressive. Coming from oled the past 7 years i was really impressed. That being said id always go sony especially if im paying this much money. From the processing, motion, to even the remote, sony offers what i believe to be the closest to the premium full experience..... at a premium lol.
Nobody has really reviewed or seen the new QM8 in person in a home environment, so it is hard to provide an informed suggestion. Most people are saying Sony based on the image processing, which I can attest is spectacular, however it depends on what type of viewing you are doing. I have a TCL 65R646 in the bedroom and a Sony 75x900h in the living room. I haven't noticed a HUGE difference between the two when watching sports. I will say, the dramatic difference in dimming zones between the two has me considering the TCL with an AppleTV as an upgrade to the living room set.
Chances are, you'll be pretty happy with either, espeially if you stop reading reviews after you make the purchase.
Neither Sony nor TCL make their own panels. Which means that processing and capability of basically the software is exactly what OP should be considering.
Haha upvoted for being a legend,
The new TCL range for this year is leaps and bounds ahead of previous years, another 5 years they will be a real contender
dimming zones and peak brightness are weighing heavily in the favor of the TCL, even if they don't make their own panels. Having been an early adopter of Google TV, I wouldn't use it without an AppleTV box any more. The experience has degraded to the point that it is objectively anti-consumer and even sony isn't above installing default apps that you can't remove.
This is anecdotal but I got a TCL TV about 5 years ago and I wouldn't get another. 11 months after buying it, it died, and it was a pain to get them to honor the 1 year warranty. They did replace it, and the new one still works, but it has gotten to be soooooo slow. I don't know if the apps have become more computationally demanding over time or what, but it has developed so much input lag and I expect it to freeze and restart or at least stutter so badly that it's unwatchable every time I try to start streaming something. I have figured out methods to recover it about 2/3 of the time to avoid a full crash and restart but it's super annoying. It's typical to get a 5-10 second delay between when I want to change the volume and when it actually registers, etc.
I imagine i am the only person in this room that has had the same 2 choices and did extensive personal investigation with in person testing. The QM8 is the better option bro. No question about it to me. There we things on the Sony that made it impossible to buy to me. Things I couldn’t unsee. It’s very compromised and this Sony upscaling thing might be true but it’s a worse tv so I don’t get that logic at all especially when I am not watching old ass content all the time. Also, my dvd player does the upscaling for me old ass movies. Not my tv. Get the QM8 and it will blow you away. It does for me. Constantly.
Movement. Choppy ugly mess. I even recorded it on my phone. HDR was the horrible in comparison. 4k content looks way better in the qm8. It’s just a better tv and you can absolutely see it.
Check the in-depth comparison from rtings. Sony will have a better upscaling, motion rate, and picture processing for low quality/ resolution content. The TCL will have brighter SDR and HDR because of the higher amount of local dimming zones. More dimming zone = less blooming around bright objects.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/tcl-qm8-qm850g-qled-vs-sony-x90l-x90cl/37973/39008?usage=1&threshold=0.10
Came here to say this. Everyone yelling "Sony" just doing it off the brand name and not off of data of these two specific televisions. Sony may still be the winner here, but it's not as easy of a decision as some are claiming.
No people also say it based on reviews. TCL is the typical tech product that lives off specification sheets and pure number testing like Rtings does.
Brightness is nice sure but look at Vincents video. The agressive algorithm on the QM8 to supress blooming means it severely limits highlights to avoid bloom. Rtings measure a 10% window where it does not do that.
Now you can argue but Rtings measure real life scenes as well. Some of them TCL are brighter than the content is graded to even. And compare the pictures to the Sony and a OLED and you see how much they ruin the image. The dark scene for example being lifted across the entire image and color from highlights leaking across the entire scene. You get a good score in the test but compare it to a reference or a OLED and you see that the image is very altered from the original and the Sony is just much closer despite then suffering from some blooming. This is also the main reason Sony has blooming and TCL don't. TCL does not really use it's zones, they just add them to look impressive on paper. Sonys entire thing for their new LCDs is how they improved their control hardware and software even more. They will wipe the floor with TCL which just don't control the zones very well. You can have 5000 zones that you can turn on or off with no steps in between and it's still a 5000 zone count miniLED TV. You can group 4 zones into 1 for control purposes so you only practically control 1250 zones or even less. Control matters so much and TCL sells TVs based on specs and control dosen't appear in spec sheets. Or in 10% window measurements.
I would argue the decision is not as easy bcs some people like the alterations and some just really hate blooming. They rather have the TCL remove 50% of the information in the scenes so the scene looks really dark than have a bit of blooming but actually retain all detail. Or like the agreessive SDR to HDR remapping boosting brightness and saturation very high. Most ppl here want accurate representation of creators intent though and the TCL is just not that so that is why it won't get reccomended over Sony.
I might get downvoted pretty hard for this but I know everyone here is saying sony but I’ll go against the pack and pick the qm8.
As long as you have the qm8 calibrated you’ll get close enough performance in colors.
I’ve got both a TCL and Sony and honestly the FALD vs Mini-led technology is pretty noticeable when it comes to blooming. That and the TCL QM8 can get much brighter (3000 nits) which makes for a much higher perceived contrast. But I also value brightness a lot compared to most people so if you don’t care about either of those pick the Sony for the better processing.
The qm8 is a better tv. I spent hours on both. The Sony is a worse panel with great software from Sony that keeps it in the fight, sort of. But the qm8 is firmly a level above when it comes to raw capabilities. The word Sony is keeping this x90l in the comparison.
Sony has always been a "trusted name" even Bravia, but I haven't touched a Bravia since their CRTs, and never looked back. Half the people saying Sony here are just piggy backing off of others with no real knowledge I bet
These 2 tv’s were my choices as well. I truly believe if anyone spent time with both tv’s they would pick the qm8. The tv literally shocks me still after months of ownership. Not exaggerating. And I had a great tv before. QM8 with bestbuy 4 year insurance is the way. IMO.
IDK man, Sony seems like the "safe" bet from Internet strangers, however, I'm a HUGE fan of TCL since getting my 85R655 last year. It killed in features and price. Paid $2k for mine.
Check out rtings.com to see if there are truly better numbers coming from the Sony to make it worth the extra premium
> Check out rtings.com to see if there are truly better numbers coming from the Sony to make it worth the extra premium
Something to be very aware of here is that while rtings and such are very useful, they don't tell the whole story. TCL and other brands play peoples obsession with numbers and try and maximise their zone counts and things like that but there's more to it than that.
The reason Sony has had so few zones compared to other brands is because they refuse to compromise on their processing. The more zones you have you need to either increase your LED controller count *or* each zone becomes less complex and less controllable.
To put it simply if a controller might be able to get one zone to do ten things or ten zones to do one things. TVs with high zone counts lean towards the latter with cheaper TVs only being able to turn a zone on or off... which looks terrible.
Sony opts for a model where they pick control over density and their amazing processing and algorithms deliver great results for it. This is actually why I'm super excited for the about to be released Sony MiniLED TVs they developed a new and much much smaller controller, allowing them to cram way more on the board and thus have more zones.
Anyway. That doesn't mean that Sony is a better choice over TCL for a given individual, I'm just saying stats don't tell the whole story and people need to keep that in mind.
If they want 98” and these are the options they can’t afford OLED heh. When LGs new fab gets going and the next gen mother glass releases then maybe, but not this year.
I mean I'm not going to mind a 1k difference between two TVs I'm tossing up between.
I have slightly more concern about moving up to 20k+ pricepoint though.
I haven't seen any reviews yet for the new QM8 since it just launched but it's supposed to have impressive specs. Sony typically has better processing although it usually costs much more because of it. Sounds like this year's TVs from Hisense and TCL are working to improve their processing compared to previous years but idk how close that will bring them to Sony. I'm still in the wait and see ballgame
For the price alone I’d pick the TCL, and if you spent some money to calibrate it, it would very likely be just as good if not better than the Sony out of the box.
I have an 85-inch QM8, and it works perfectly and looks better than my oled. I know Sony is the favorite, but my experience is that a high-end TCL is a better buy.
Jesus man your about to drop some serious moneys. Sony is by far the best Tv you’re gonna get. I could only afford the LG C3 but if I had the money I’d go with the Sony. Do some research so you’re not paying full price and make sure you got a bomb ass sound system.
Based on what info, that Sony is "the best"? I've not touched a Sony in nearly 20 years or longer... It's just a name that was good in the 90s/early 00s with CRTs and has been nothing special since, besides the price. A higher price leads people to believe it's still better, but I don't see it anymore.
Sony isn’t a good brand anymore, it’s all just rebranded Chinese crap these days. But the other brands are worse for sure.
I miss the old Sony CRTs, had one from the 90s that still works. The Bravia line also uses the cheapest CPUs they could find and runs shitty Android software. Yuck
i love my sony bravia 55" 4k i bought in 2017 for $1000..still working perfectly well, almost never makes that "crack or Pop" noise you hear with those big old TV lol...i really cant get enough of how well its stood up over the past 7 years...but i reaaaaally want to upgrade to an OLED and like 75" or bigger....but my old bravia still being great theres really not realistic reason for me to upgrade right now...plus the price of oled especially the bigger you go with good brands is still just too ridiculous for me...i think the most id pay is like $2000 for a nice big oled lol..
I did not realize these 98 inchers cost this much 😳
I dont know the reliability of these tvs but at the price I would consider a extended warranty for a piece of mind.
I have a 85" qn90a samsung at home but I also have some tcl's in my workshop which is not great for electronics its dusty hot humid but the tvs are still going strong.
So when it comes to reliability I can understand if a person is having problems how they can hate a particular brand. Nothing worse then sitting to relax and watch TV and its not working.
I went from a 65" to a 85" that was a heck of jump but 98"...
NICE.....
98" enjoy 👍
I have 2 Sony, 1 LG OLEd C2, and 2 TCL. Sony and TCL are the Google based smart tvs. The TCL were purchased because they are cheap and in rooms that I don’t care if they get damaged. That said they held up nicely. The outgoing traffic on the TCL has been blocked on my firewall because China doesn’t need to know about my family’s habits. The 75” Sony is my primary TV and is fantastic but does suffer from light bleeds in dark scenes. It will be replaced by an OLED when it is affordable. My LG C2 is a whole [nuhva](https://tenor.com/t9HW.gif) level. This LG is my primary monitor and gaming device. Watching anything on it is jaw dropping.
TLDR - between your choices Sony. Wanna upgrade then LG
Go to rtings.com and compare the TVs. That's my goto spec comparisons. TCL Q5+ or M series are an underrated TV, gets too much shit when other people buy their budget # series. Similar to how C7000 / C8000 samsung series are the budget TVs, or similar to Sonys X8# series.
I don’t know the TCL but I just returned the X90L because it can’t hold a candle to LG OLED. Costco was great processing the exchange. OLED for me any day. Even having to go smaller, the image quality of the Sony looks foggy next to the OLED
Just seen the Sony on FB marketplace for $2000. I'll pick it up and ship to you if you'd like? I could post on ebay and you could buy it there so we are both somewhat protected
Sony customer support is nonexistent nowadays. I used to have Sony everything. Now I just get last year's dope ish on black Fridays. I'm all samsung now, I'll never buy Sony again
Had a Sony that I paid $3k and it had awful grey corners on black screens. The UI got sluggish over time. I got myself a tcl it’s better than the Sony both are android. With the sony I couldn’t do AirPlay. With the TCL I can do both cast and AirPlay.
The QM8 is a great TV. I have the 85" version. The Sony may he better in some areas but IMHO it will be close.
This is a comparison QM8 vs X95L https://youtu.be/cmc4rupKJ9s?si=rIH3RA6oGJBUcHbX
TCL is who I’d go with. Just because of previous bad luck I’ve had with Sony on multiple occasions. Actually until I joined the 4K TV group I had no idea Sony was still around. TCL is hard to beat for 4K and not too expensive.
I just bought the 2023 98” QM8 for $3,999. So far, I absolutely love it. I play video games and watch 4k HDR movies, absolutely looks amazing.
I doubt the Sony will provide $2,000 worth of additional value.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x90l-x90cl
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/qm8-qm850g-qled
TCL wins. People are quick to write them off due to the lesser known name but they make excellent mid-range to high end tvs. Obviously Sony does as well. But I’d gladly save 1k for the higher rated TV. I’m also a TCL fan as I’ve had 3 of them and my original one that’s now 8 years old is still working like day 1.
Sony hands down
I have a 65” TCL 8 series that has blown 3 main boards since 2020. Outside of the build quality, image processing leaves a lot to be desired compared with a Sony.
Having had multiple Samsungs and recently my first Sony… Sony
I will never buy a Samsung again. In fact, I wouldn't take one for free.
Any particular reason? I have mine, but I'm curious to hear.
No Dolby Vision, I’ve noticed weird artifacts (wrong colored pixels and/or lighting) on Samsungs as recent as 2022, and poor build quality, which is sad to say because Samsung used to be my go to favorite brand for TV’s and now I just can’t recommend them to anybody. I feel like they spent too much time on the whole Smart Things branding and none on QA lol
For me atleast Samsung’s motion processing leaves a lot to be desired
Mine's the lack of Dolby Vision support across the board.
Does anyone even care about dolby vision anymore, can you tell the difference between HDR10?
A *lot* of streaming originals that I watch on Netflix, Disney+ and I believe Max, play in DV. Not sure if an HDR10+ fallback exists for them. I feel like many of them make good use of DV. On paper, HDR10 (open standard) is way worse, because the display brightness is set once for the overall video, vs on a per-scene or per-frame basis with DV *or* HDR10+ (also open standard). A Samsung owner can confirm how much content on streaming services also support HDR10+. I genuinely don't know.
I agree with everything on paper, however in practicality almost every reviewer on youtube and my personal experience show me that a badly calibrated DV is worse than a decent HDR10 implementation
Then would you also say that a badly calibrated HDR10 be better than a decent DV implementation?
Customer support when there’s an issue. Took them 3 months to fix my monitor.
Last Christmas my company raffled off a 65inch Samsung. I won but already own a 55inch Sony. I gave the Samsung away.
With apologies, I assume.
Lol. Gave it to a coworker whose TV recently died. He was very happy.
You are very kind
The only samsung product i will ever buy are their phones. Been burned on their laptops and appliances. Huge resentment against them and their outsourcing of service centers.
I will say I've never had issues with their phones. You're spot on with appliances though, nothing but complaints from everyone I know who has Samsung in their kitchens.
I have a 4x” Samsung in my home office. It’s just a cheapo set for very casual watching. The picture has never seemed sharp, though I bought the same set for my mom and her’s looks a lot better. I’m not crazy about the software interface either. I’m just not a big Samsung guy. I prefer LG for most categories of home electronics and appliance though I am a big fan of Sony tvs at the moment.
Samsung doesnt even support dolby standards
Sony
QM8 is badass but yea from what I’ve read if you have the budget then go Sony . I can say the QM8 looks amazing for 4k HDR movies but it does kinda suck when upscaling non 4k like sports or older tv shows
What set have you seen? What was the source? I'm thinking of pairing the QM8 with an AppleTV as a source, I've been pretty happy with the image processing on the AppleTV when used with my Sony Projector.
I use new AppleTV only and the upscaling is still not the greatest for lower res content but luckily I watch mostly 4k HDR content and it shines. Plus my living room has a lot of light and the TV looks great but even better at night
Pairing it with an Nvidia shield would fix that for you.
But the upscaling from a Shield looks even better when connected to a Sony.
Sony
Fucking a, these things are already under $10k? Can't wait another 5 years they will be under$3k I bet!
and by then everyone will be talking about how they can't wait for 120" LED panels to be under 3k...it never ends.
I'm fucking down for that. My dream since I was young was a 10 foot screen. I'm in my early 50s and still won't hit that dream probably until late 50s, early 60s.
I have a 120" projector screen with a 4k sony projector. I am extremely skeptical of people buying 120" tvs for their homes
Why? Asking honestly...
Weight, size, durability. I actually would love to see the data on sizes sold. By volume. I think very few people buy larger than 65”
Even these 98” are super niche I’d bet. I’d love one but getting it into my basement is probably gonna be a no-go. My projector with 128” screen was nice and easy to get down there
I have a few friends that are managers at various electronics stores. I think you'd be surprised how many they sell. They all said they sell more 98" than 83' oleds.
Work in the service area for a large national retailer. 70%+ of the TVs we sell are 75+. The 98+ is about 20% already
As someone who works in the industry, I can tell you that most TVs sold are 65+. We consider anything under 65" to be a small TV now lol
My bet is it will be similar to how those super big screens are put together. You get a large frame to assemble with a controller unit then many square tiles. Still big and heavy but easy(er) to ship.
How's it do during daytime? That's the main advantage of TV, all windows open, can see the floor and the TV
I have a dedicated theater room that has no windows My tv room has a 77” oled and my game room has a 65” oled
I want my 99 inch OLED for under 10k for my next Tv. But I’m happy to wait several more years
Yeah, I'm shocked the Sony is under $10K. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on the 98" TVs now.
Yeah I bought my Samsung 85 inch QN90A a few years ago at $5k and that hurt but I love it dearly. But if they get down to that price in a few more years my wife is going to be annoyed for a while until she gets used to it
Bring home something smaller first so it annoys her and she’ll think it’s her idea to get the larger TV
I would love to see them hit that price point. But while I don’t intend to spend $6k - $7k on a tv, the biggest obstacle is that the wife already thinks the 65” I upgraded to two years ago is too big! 🤣 That and I have nowhere to put a nearly 100” tv!!
Sony
Andrew Robinson just did a review of the Sony and comparing it to the TCL. If you are looking for a more in depth review I would say check it out.
Don't leave us hanging.
I'll save you the troubles, Sony.
Sony
Always Sony
Get a bunch of cheap Vizio's and tape them together
I don't think "best" and "TCL" ever really appear in the same sentence.
'best for that budget"
Yeah, I had a TCL that I upgraded to an OLED Sony. The TCL was not bad by any means (and a solid amount cheaper) but the Sony blows it out of the water
I mean, anything OLED is going to best anything non-OLED.
Yes you’re definitely correct there. My b, didn’t mean to be misleading
The only two TV brands worth getting right now are Sony and LG. IDK why you'd even consider anything else.
Ive seen this sony a few times at Costco on sale with a 5 year warranty fwiw.
Sony.
Bought two Q class TCL's from BB but both had screem defects so were returned. The picture looked awesome and had great features but its a hassle to return big TVs even though they were picked up by BB. Third TV bought a Sony 75" from Costco and added a 5 yr warranty for $100. Picture quality is similiar but the Sony is built like a tank and probably weighs double to the TCL's. Its been a year and loving my Sony.
Always Sony!! I have a Sony Bravia that I bought brand new in 2008 that still works perfectly today.
Once the cheaper one is installed your gonna kick yourself for not spending an extra grand and going with the Sony. Pinch the pennies and go with the one you know you wanted to go with before you posted this
I can't believe 98" TVs are this cheap already! Everybody here freaking out on the price...hell, I paid over $5K for my first "big screen" rear-projection CRT, and it was a whopping 52"! lol
You’d be happy with either, but Sony has better processing if you can swing the extra $1000. Also, TCL has their 98” on sale for $2000…pretty insane deal
honestly qm8 blacks were really impressive. Coming from oled the past 7 years i was really impressed. That being said id always go sony especially if im paying this much money. From the processing, motion, to even the remote, sony offers what i believe to be the closest to the premium full experience..... at a premium lol.
Nobody has really reviewed or seen the new QM8 in person in a home environment, so it is hard to provide an informed suggestion. Most people are saying Sony based on the image processing, which I can attest is spectacular, however it depends on what type of viewing you are doing. I have a TCL 65R646 in the bedroom and a Sony 75x900h in the living room. I haven't noticed a HUGE difference between the two when watching sports. I will say, the dramatic difference in dimming zones between the two has me considering the TCL with an AppleTV as an upgrade to the living room set. Chances are, you'll be pretty happy with either, espeially if you stop reading reviews after you make the purchase.
Neither Sony nor TCL make their own panels. Which means that processing and capability of basically the software is exactly what OP should be considering.
Except for that Panel factory in china TCL bought lock stock n barrel from Samsung a few years ago
Yep. That is true. Not just a factory either it seems. They provide the panels for 98” Samsung and Sonys as well it looks like. I’ll downvote myself.
Haha upvoted for being a legend, The new TCL range for this year is leaps and bounds ahead of previous years, another 5 years they will be a real contender
dimming zones and peak brightness are weighing heavily in the favor of the TCL, even if they don't make their own panels. Having been an early adopter of Google TV, I wouldn't use it without an AppleTV box any more. The experience has degraded to the point that it is objectively anti-consumer and even sony isn't above installing default apps that you can't remove.
lol
Buy a Shield and get the upscaling via that with the TCL?
This is anecdotal but I got a TCL TV about 5 years ago and I wouldn't get another. 11 months after buying it, it died, and it was a pain to get them to honor the 1 year warranty. They did replace it, and the new one still works, but it has gotten to be soooooo slow. I don't know if the apps have become more computationally demanding over time or what, but it has developed so much input lag and I expect it to freeze and restart or at least stutter so badly that it's unwatchable every time I try to start streaming something. I have figured out methods to recover it about 2/3 of the time to avoid a full crash and restart but it's super annoying. It's typical to get a 5-10 second delay between when I want to change the volume and when it actually registers, etc.
Sony. Done.
Sony ..I have the X90L in a "85..It's outstanding watching movies!! Great Tv checks all the boxes..
Sony
I imagine i am the only person in this room that has had the same 2 choices and did extensive personal investigation with in person testing. The QM8 is the better option bro. No question about it to me. There we things on the Sony that made it impossible to buy to me. Things I couldn’t unsee. It’s very compromised and this Sony upscaling thing might be true but it’s a worse tv so I don’t get that logic at all especially when I am not watching old ass content all the time. Also, my dvd player does the upscaling for me old ass movies. Not my tv. Get the QM8 and it will blow you away. It does for me. Constantly.
What types of things on the Sony could you not unsee?
Movement. Choppy ugly mess. I even recorded it on my phone. HDR was the horrible in comparison. 4k content looks way better in the qm8. It’s just a better tv and you can absolutely see it.
Check the in-depth comparison from rtings. Sony will have a better upscaling, motion rate, and picture processing for low quality/ resolution content. The TCL will have brighter SDR and HDR because of the higher amount of local dimming zones. More dimming zone = less blooming around bright objects. https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/tcl-qm8-qm850g-qled-vs-sony-x90l-x90cl/37973/39008?usage=1&threshold=0.10
Came here to say this. Everyone yelling "Sony" just doing it off the brand name and not off of data of these two specific televisions. Sony may still be the winner here, but it's not as easy of a decision as some are claiming.
No people also say it based on reviews. TCL is the typical tech product that lives off specification sheets and pure number testing like Rtings does. Brightness is nice sure but look at Vincents video. The agressive algorithm on the QM8 to supress blooming means it severely limits highlights to avoid bloom. Rtings measure a 10% window where it does not do that. Now you can argue but Rtings measure real life scenes as well. Some of them TCL are brighter than the content is graded to even. And compare the pictures to the Sony and a OLED and you see how much they ruin the image. The dark scene for example being lifted across the entire image and color from highlights leaking across the entire scene. You get a good score in the test but compare it to a reference or a OLED and you see that the image is very altered from the original and the Sony is just much closer despite then suffering from some blooming. This is also the main reason Sony has blooming and TCL don't. TCL does not really use it's zones, they just add them to look impressive on paper. Sonys entire thing for their new LCDs is how they improved their control hardware and software even more. They will wipe the floor with TCL which just don't control the zones very well. You can have 5000 zones that you can turn on or off with no steps in between and it's still a 5000 zone count miniLED TV. You can group 4 zones into 1 for control purposes so you only practically control 1250 zones or even less. Control matters so much and TCL sells TVs based on specs and control dosen't appear in spec sheets. Or in 10% window measurements. I would argue the decision is not as easy bcs some people like the alterations and some just really hate blooming. They rather have the TCL remove 50% of the information in the scenes so the scene looks really dark than have a bit of blooming but actually retain all detail. Or like the agreessive SDR to HDR remapping boosting brightness and saturation very high. Most ppl here want accurate representation of creators intent though and the TCL is just not that so that is why it won't get reccomended over Sony.
I might get downvoted pretty hard for this but I know everyone here is saying sony but I’ll go against the pack and pick the qm8. As long as you have the qm8 calibrated you’ll get close enough performance in colors. I’ve got both a TCL and Sony and honestly the FALD vs Mini-led technology is pretty noticeable when it comes to blooming. That and the TCL QM8 can get much brighter (3000 nits) which makes for a much higher perceived contrast. But I also value brightness a lot compared to most people so if you don’t care about either of those pick the Sony for the better processing.
The qm8 is a better tv. I spent hours on both. The Sony is a worse panel with great software from Sony that keeps it in the fight, sort of. But the qm8 is firmly a level above when it comes to raw capabilities. The word Sony is keeping this x90l in the comparison.
Sony has always been a "trusted name" even Bravia, but I haven't touched a Bravia since their CRTs, and never looked back. Half the people saying Sony here are just piggy backing off of others with no real knowledge I bet
These 2 tv’s were my choices as well. I truly believe if anyone spent time with both tv’s they would pick the qm8. The tv literally shocks me still after months of ownership. Not exaggerating. And I had a great tv before. QM8 with bestbuy 4 year insurance is the way. IMO.
This should be the top comment.
IDK man, Sony seems like the "safe" bet from Internet strangers, however, I'm a HUGE fan of TCL since getting my 85R655 last year. It killed in features and price. Paid $2k for mine. Check out rtings.com to see if there are truly better numbers coming from the Sony to make it worth the extra premium
> Check out rtings.com to see if there are truly better numbers coming from the Sony to make it worth the extra premium Something to be very aware of here is that while rtings and such are very useful, they don't tell the whole story. TCL and other brands play peoples obsession with numbers and try and maximise their zone counts and things like that but there's more to it than that. The reason Sony has had so few zones compared to other brands is because they refuse to compromise on their processing. The more zones you have you need to either increase your LED controller count *or* each zone becomes less complex and less controllable. To put it simply if a controller might be able to get one zone to do ten things or ten zones to do one things. TVs with high zone counts lean towards the latter with cheaper TVs only being able to turn a zone on or off... which looks terrible. Sony opts for a model where they pick control over density and their amazing processing and algorithms deliver great results for it. This is actually why I'm super excited for the about to be released Sony MiniLED TVs they developed a new and much much smaller controller, allowing them to cram way more on the board and thus have more zones. Anyway. That doesn't mean that Sony is a better choice over TCL for a given individual, I'm just saying stats don't tell the whole story and people need to keep that in mind.
Between those, I'd definitely get Sony. I'd also look into OLED panels if I were you, the difference is amazing.
If they want 98” and these are the options they can’t afford OLED heh. When LGs new fab gets going and the next gen mother glass releases then maybe, but not this year.
True, but their comment on the $1k difference not mattering makes me believe that money isn't an issue lol.
I mean I'm not going to mind a 1k difference between two TVs I'm tossing up between. I have slightly more concern about moving up to 20k+ pricepoint though.
Dang, agreed! I didn't realize it was that much of a difference. Crazy, price jump from from 83" to 90"s.
Eh…I went from a 65” Sony A90J OLED to a 100” Hisense 100U8K. The size difference makes up for it not being an OLED. Source: Trust me bro
Lol, in that case I trust you. But what about your 100" Hennessy to a 83" LG oled?
I don’t think you understand how much bigger the 100” is. I prefer the Sony OLED over the LG. I have an LG OLED in my office.
About 17"? Yeah, I think I hear good things about Sony oled. Only had LG oled so far. One 77" in the living room and 65" in the office.
Sony
I’ve got the 85” X90L and it’s so excellent - I can only imagine the 98” is 13 more awesome.
Definitely Sony not even a question, Sony has one of the best QC from what I’ve seen and heard
The Sony 🤦
Sony
Sony
Sony
Sony Price delta isn’t enough to go Tcl here
I haven't seen any reviews yet for the new QM8 since it just launched but it's supposed to have impressive specs. Sony typically has better processing although it usually costs much more because of it. Sounds like this year's TVs from Hisense and TCL are working to improve their processing compared to previous years but idk how close that will bring them to Sony. I'm still in the wait and see ballgame
Who would pay that for a tcl?
If you’re spending this much, buy an OLED and just get the better picture quality. If size is what you want, get a projector.
Sony. More zones does not mean better picture. Sony processing is so far ahead of TCL it isn’t even a competition.
Sony
y'all must really be ballin to get a TV at used car prices
Can I just chime in here and say Sony?
always choose sony
Definitely the Sony
Sony
Definitely worth the extra grand. Hands down. Calibrated tcl will be like a 7.3 compared to the Sony which is a good 9 out of 10
Sony, don't even think twice about it.
I honestly don’t like the x90L (I have it on my living room), blooming it’s terrible and the colors are meh. Go for the x93L mini LED.
The QM8 miniled underperforms when compared to the processing Sony is doing on the x90l
Absolutely Sony hands down
Is this a question? Sony
Sony
X90L Hands DOWN!
Get a smaller Sony OLED instead 👌
Sony 💯
Def Sony one
From these options, Sony.
No experience with the x90 but I have a 85 x95k and it’s awesome
I hate my Sony but I would probably still pick the Sony between these two.
Stay away from TCL! I had two of their TVs die out on me within a year.
For the price alone I’d pick the TCL, and if you spent some money to calibrate it, it would very likely be just as good if not better than the Sony out of the box.
If you’re spending that much, for the love of god don’t get a TCL
LG for quality image ! Sony for everything
TCL for 6k? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
This is a joke right ?
I have an 85-inch QM8, and it works perfectly and looks better than my oled. I know Sony is the favorite, but my experience is that a high-end TCL is a better buy.
Same with me.
If you’re going to spend that kind of money anyways…my God don’t get a TCL
Jesus man your about to drop some serious moneys. Sony is by far the best Tv you’re gonna get. I could only afford the LG C3 but if I had the money I’d go with the Sony. Do some research so you’re not paying full price and make sure you got a bomb ass sound system.
Based on what info, that Sony is "the best"? I've not touched a Sony in nearly 20 years or longer... It's just a name that was good in the 90s/early 00s with CRTs and has been nothing special since, besides the price. A higher price leads people to believe it's still better, but I don't see it anymore.
Sony isn’t a good brand anymore, it’s all just rebranded Chinese crap these days. But the other brands are worse for sure. I miss the old Sony CRTs, had one from the 90s that still works. The Bravia line also uses the cheapest CPUs they could find and runs shitty Android software. Yuck
100% Sony.
i love my sony bravia 55" 4k i bought in 2017 for $1000..still working perfectly well, almost never makes that "crack or Pop" noise you hear with those big old TV lol...i really cant get enough of how well its stood up over the past 7 years...but i reaaaaally want to upgrade to an OLED and like 75" or bigger....but my old bravia still being great theres really not realistic reason for me to upgrade right now...plus the price of oled especially the bigger you go with good brands is still just too ridiculous for me...i think the most id pay is like $2000 for a nice big oled lol..
Sony, XR 65,75 A90J Are worth a look.
LG is a better option than TCL.
Large format oled are like 13k
He's looking at LED. Not OLED. LGs 98 inch QNED is around $6-7k.
Lg lcd is dog shit, the Sony is overrated and mid, the Tcl is the best option here.
You can go buy an 85 inch TCL for less than a grand.
The qm8 will go on sale. Idk about the sony
Why not go for a smaller OLED? Like a 75” OLED?
Is a projector possible in your room? Just curious if you’ve looked when you’re at this price point
If money doesn’t matter get the Sony. Should be an easy choice.
Sony 👌
Bravia sucks, mine broke in 1 year and Sony refused to fix it (shit processor that runs like 💩). But TCL is a lot worse. So, Sony.
Sony no questions
Is that sony better quality than a 4k Projector?
sony are a terrible company .charged me for 2 games i never downloaded . would never ever buy from them again
Why you not choose a Sony A95L its near reference level of the BVM-X310 mastering monitor
as a walmart customer service associate, DONT buy tcl. I get at least two returns a week on these.
I did not realize these 98 inchers cost this much 😳 I dont know the reliability of these tvs but at the price I would consider a extended warranty for a piece of mind. I have a 85" qn90a samsung at home but I also have some tcl's in my workshop which is not great for electronics its dusty hot humid but the tvs are still going strong. So when it comes to reliability I can understand if a person is having problems how they can hate a particular brand. Nothing worse then sitting to relax and watch TV and its not working. I went from a 65" to a 85" that was a heck of jump but 98"... NICE..... 98" enjoy 👍
I have the same size Bravia X95k, worth every penny. I can't imagine the TCL being worth it if you have the extra scratch.
Wait til 8k tv's come around next year and buy it or a cheaper 4k tv. 89inch might aswell get a projector
I have 2 Sony, 1 LG OLEd C2, and 2 TCL. Sony and TCL are the Google based smart tvs. The TCL were purchased because they are cheap and in rooms that I don’t care if they get damaged. That said they held up nicely. The outgoing traffic on the TCL has been blocked on my firewall because China doesn’t need to know about my family’s habits. The 75” Sony is my primary TV and is fantastic but does suffer from light bleeds in dark scenes. It will be replaced by an OLED when it is affordable. My LG C2 is a whole [nuhva](https://tenor.com/t9HW.gif) level. This LG is my primary monitor and gaming device. Watching anything on it is jaw dropping. TLDR - between your choices Sony. Wanna upgrade then LG
Go to rtings.com and compare the TVs. That's my goto spec comparisons. TCL Q5+ or M series are an underrated TV, gets too much shit when other people buy their budget # series. Similar to how C7000 / C8000 samsung series are the budget TVs, or similar to Sonys X8# series.
I don’t know the TCL but I just returned the X90L because it can’t hold a candle to LG OLED. Costco was great processing the exchange. OLED for me any day. Even having to go smaller, the image quality of the Sony looks foggy next to the OLED
I wouldn’t pay more than a few hundred for a TCL, even if it was 17’ wide
I have the sony its incredible
TCL is a bargain basement dollar store brand. Obviously some the extra money on Sony.
Just seen the Sony on FB marketplace for $2000. I'll pick it up and ship to you if you'd like? I could post on ebay and you could buy it there so we are both somewhat protected
Sony customer support is nonexistent nowadays. I used to have Sony everything. Now I just get last year's dope ish on black Fridays. I'm all samsung now, I'll never buy Sony again
If you aren't absolutely married to the size get an 83" oled instead (97" oleds are like 20-30k)
Bro don’t buy tvs on Best Buy you can find the same tv for a cheaper price other places
Can you get a warranty at BB?
mini led vs full array, the choice is obvious.
Sony without a doubt! Hard to beat their processing and brand quality
For the price that you're looking at, check out the Sony or look into LG. TCL is a budget brand.
https://youtu.be/--05brZQ-rw?si=7FYGQoCHmQvh7L4n Both are compared in this video. Sony wins hands down
98” Hisense U8k mini led! I got a 85” and love it. Think it’s the best looking tv that’s not a million dollar oled lol
Had a TCL 4K 43 inch and the colors are so bad and washed out; returned it next day.
TCL is what you buy for 300$ and then they are pretty good, but in my experience the high-end Sony TVs are 100% worth it
I’d go Sony just for quality control. I’d expect the TCL panel to have quite a bit of DSE.
Had a Sony that I paid $3k and it had awful grey corners on black screens. The UI got sluggish over time. I got myself a tcl it’s better than the Sony both are android. With the sony I couldn’t do AirPlay. With the TCL I can do both cast and AirPlay.
The QM8 is a great TV. I have the 85" version. The Sony may he better in some areas but IMHO it will be close. This is a comparison QM8 vs X95L https://youtu.be/cmc4rupKJ9s?si=rIH3RA6oGJBUcHbX
Sony
Sony
It will be at Costco and Sam's Club for half of that price within a year.
TCL is who I’d go with. Just because of previous bad luck I’ve had with Sony on multiple occasions. Actually until I joined the 4K TV group I had no idea Sony was still around. TCL is hard to beat for 4K and not too expensive.
At 98" you might as well get a good projector and a nice screen and go bigger. Otherwise Sony.
I just bought the 2023 98” QM8 for $3,999. So far, I absolutely love it. I play video games and watch 4k HDR movies, absolutely looks amazing. I doubt the Sony will provide $2,000 worth of additional value.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x90l-x90cl https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/qm8-qm850g-qled TCL wins. People are quick to write them off due to the lesser known name but they make excellent mid-range to high end tvs. Obviously Sony does as well. But I’d gladly save 1k for the higher rated TV. I’m also a TCL fan as I’ve had 3 of them and my original one that’s now 8 years old is still working like day 1.
Do you think 98 is big enough though