By Nermeen Nabil Khear 
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Most people won’t be able to tell the difference in visual quality between a QLED and OLED TV at a glance, but the difference in price is immediately obvious. The truth is, if you get a good QLED TV, most people will be happy with the picture quality and be happy to pocket the price difference.
If you think that applies to you, I think this QLED from TCL is a about as good a choice as it gets. The TCL QM7 is a Quantum Dot Mini Light Emitting Diode (QD Mini-LED) QLED TV, meaning TCL combines QD and Mini-LED tech to improve picture quality with more realistic colors, better contrast, and higher brightness. The QM7 also supports most HDR formats that most people want and is a great TV for gamers. Perhaps the best part is how affordable this TV is for how good it is.
TCL sent me a 65-inch QM7 for me to review. After testing it for a while, I can recommend this TV to anyone who wants a solid, budget QLED TV without the premium perks and prices of TVs like TCL’s QM8 or OLEDs.
$497.00
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TCL QM7 pros, cons, and specs
Specs
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Type: QLED with QD-Mini LED technology
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Dimming Zones: Up to 1,240 local dimming zones
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Brightness: Up to 2,400 nits peak brightness
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Ports: 4 HDMI inputs (One 4K/144Hz, one 4K/120Hz, one 4K/60Hz, and one eARC/ARC with 4K/60Hz), 2 USB ports (one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0), 1 Ethernet port, 1 Digital Audio Optical output, 1 Antenna/cable input, 1 RF Input, 1 Headphone output, 1 AV Input (Composite Video + L&R Audio In)
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Screen Size and Weight: 55-inch model: 28.9 lbs (13.1 kg), 65-inch model: 45.9 lbs (20.8 kg), 75-inch model: 63.1 lbs (28.6 kg), 85-inch model: 81.6 lbs (37 kg), 98-inch model: 130.1 lbs (59 kg)
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Resolution: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels)
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HDR Support: HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG
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Input Lag: Low input lag, enhanced by features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, providing a responsive gaming experience.
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Refresh Rate: 120Hz native panel refresh rate, supporting up to 144Hz Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)
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Contrast: Enhanced contrast with 1,240 local dimming zones, delivering deep blacks and bright whites
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Voice Assistant: Built-in Google Assistant; also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit
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Operating System: Google TV
Pros
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Bright with up to 2,400 nits
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Strong contrast makes colors pop
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Hands-free Google Assistant
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Support for most HDR formats
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Support for Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Alexa, and Apple HomeKit
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Native 120Hz and support VRR up to 144Hz
Cons
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Colors are saturated out of the box
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Plastic build feels cheap
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Stand is wobbly (but you can just mount it)
TCL QM7 first impressions
The QM7 didn’t make a good impression out of the box. The plastic build quality was poor and felt cheap and weak. However, as you will read on, this is mainly where TCL made cuts to give such a good value TV. I would much rather have TV companies make cuts on the build than on the specs, ports, formats, or picture quality. Once my TV was set up, none of the physical aspects of the TV mattered.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
Design
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
Thin bezels give this TV a very modern look. The ports on the QM7 are well thought out and will make gamers happy. You have four HDMI ports, two of which are HDMI 2.1, and one of those can handle 4K at 144Hz. Neither of these two is the eARC port, letting you hook up a soundbar without taking one of the good HDMI ports. Good job TCL.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
The stand on the QM7 is in the center, with a 3.5-inch gap to place a soundbar. However, I felt the stand was too wobbly, so I opted to mount the TV using a standard VESA bracket for my bedroom. I personally recommend getting a soundbar if you value proper audio. The “Ultra-Bass” subwoofer from Onkyo on the back of the TV looks cool, but it was nothing more than a gimmick. I could not hear any difference in audio, much less in bass, compared to any other TV.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
I really like the controller, with an auto-sense backlight that came in pretty handy when I was looking for the controller in pitch darkness.
Image
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
The two main things that stood out from the image when I first watched the QM7 were the contrast and brightness. The contrast is powerful, with a native contrast of 8,264;1 and getting up to 66,900: 1, which is better than most non-OLED TVs. Deep blacks look very good, even when next to bright highlights. This is due to the high amount of local dimming zones (1,240 to be exact), which is impressive given the price of this TV.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
This TV is also very bright, hitting up to 2,400 nits of peak brightness. This makes it a great TV for a bright living room or a bedroom with a lot of natural light, which is the case in my bedroom. The highlights in dark scenes really stand out in HDR content, and since it supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, I could not think of a better way to put this to the test than by re-watching the darkest episode I could think of, “The Long Night” from Game of Thrones (season 8, episode 3) on Max, which streams in 4K and with Dolby Vision.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
I was blown away by how much detail I picked up with the QM7 that I missed the first time I watched the episode. With the QM7 I could see details in caves and fight scenes that I never saw before. Even during the darkest scenes, I could make out what was happening on the screen. There was barely any blooming on the scenes with fire or bright highlights against dark backgrounds (even the subtitles looked good).
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
The image isn’t perfect though, since some black and shadow images do look over-bright (you can fix a lot of this in the settings with the right adjustments though). But overall, it does a great job in most cases, especially in HDR content.
Since this is still a VA panel, it does lose some detail and color saturation at certain viewing angles, but it’s not terrible. I could still enjoy the details, colors, and brightness sitting from the most extreme angles.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
The reflection can be problematic, but mostly when I was watching dark scenes and I had my overhead fan light on and the windows open during the brightest time of the day. When I switched over to bright scenes with the same amount of bright light in my room, the glare was barely noticeable.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
Features
TCL is one of the TV brands that isn’t loyal to one specific HDR format, so you get to enjoy all of them (if that TV offers them). The QM7 offers HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG, covering most of the formats used in premium streaming app subscriptions these days. The HDR Ultra with Dolby Vision IQ adjusts the brightness of the light in your room, which can be a cool feature for those who are sensitive to brightness, but I personally don’t enjoy it, so I turned it off.
Google TV
The hands-free Google Assistant is responsive and works better than my aging Google Home. Because this is a Google TV, it is compatible with Google Cast, but it’s always great to see it supports others like Apple AirPlay, Alexa, and Apple HomeKit.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
The Google TV OS is snappy and easy on the eyes. It also comes with many free channels through TCL TV and live Google TV Freeplay. You won’t find the latest shows or movies playing, mainly reruns or local live TV, but it’s free.
Gaming
The Xbox Series X/S is the only console that does Dolby Vision (for now), so your results may vary, but my experience was one of the best ones I’ve had. Using the 4K and 120Hz refresh rate (you can do 144Hz if your computer supports it) in game mode picture setting was beautiful (remember you’ll need an Ultra High-Speed HDMI to do this). The colors are radiant, the movements smooth, and the input lag isn’t noticeable (6 milliseconds). My only qualm is with the sound delay. When playing games like Halo Infinite or Call of Duty: Black Ops, there is a noticeable delay when shots are fired and when the sound is heard. This can likely be fixed if you hook up a soundbar and adjust the audio delay settings, but I didn’t see an option to adjust this with the TVs built-in speakers.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
I enjoy having the “information” button on the remote, which shows me if I am actually gaming with the Game Master setting on, the resolution, refresh rate, UHD and FreeSync, and the HDR format (Dolby Vision in my case). You can see what it looks like in the image above.
Bottom line
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
The QM7 is an incredible QLED TV with great value for the money. It is incredibly bright reaching highs of up to 2,400 nits, has a powerful contrast that makes colors pop while keeping deep darks, and very minimal blooming. The up to 1,240 local dimming zones make this TV one of the best value options for picture quality for non-OLEDs. Watching movies or shows is great with HDR support from the most used formats for streaming media. With four HDMI ports all of which can get 4k, and one of which can support VRR and up to 144Hz (separate from the eARC), gamers have plenty of ports to use multiple consoles or products at once. If you’re willing to look past the cheap plastic build and wobbly stand (mount it and forget it) this is an incredible budget QLED for the money. You can find the 65-inch for under $700, making it a very competitive TV in the mid-tier TV market.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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