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What Hi-Fi?

Technology

Lewis Empson

Cyber Monday OLED TV deals continue to impress, but this is the best option for anyone dead set on Mini LED

TCL Black Friday (Topic) Sony LG Amazon Currys Richer Sounds

The 65-inch TCL C7K Mini LED TV photographed in a living room.

I've been recommending TVs to eager Black Friday and Cyber Monday buyers for four days straight, and it's come to my attention that I've been mostly steering people towards OLED sets.

That's no great surprise, as we find that the panel technology delivers the most cinematic performance in our experience. We've said it before, but when you experience OLED black levels and contrast, it's near impossible to go back.

That being said, it's come to my attention that OLED isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I think that's fair enough. As someone who's constantly surrounded by premium OLEDs, it's easy to lose sight of the other options, but I completely realise that while I'll always opt for an OLED TV where possible, not everyone feels the same, and for good reasons too.

First and foremost, OLED TVs are expensive. Even hundreds of pounds worth of Black Friday savings can't drag the Sony Bravia 8 II's price below £1500, and the LG C5 sits north of £1000 in its 65-inch size, even with discounts applied.

Furthermore, there is the issue of brightness, as OLED has been playing catch-up with Mini LED in this regard for a few years now. The playing field is beginning to level with QD-OLED and Primary RGB Tandem OLED hitting their respective strides, but these panels are only featured in premium sets.

So, if you want a TV that balances convincing black levels and punchy brightness, and features a price tag that's under four figures, then OLED is, frankly speaking, out of the question.

Fear not, as I've been wracking my brains as to what the best alternative could be, and I was reminded of a TV that I've been using in our dedicated AV testing room just over a week ago.

It's the Award-winning 65-inch TCL C7K, a TV that I admittedly had some reservations about.

I wasn't a huge fan of the C855K, and that was the last TCL TV I'd come face-to-face with in our testing facility, so unboxing and setting up the C7K as a reference model for an upcoming review made me slightly anxious.

Thankfully, my nerves were quickly dispelled when this TV jumped into action. It's a fantastic looking TV across the board, with punchy highlights, impressively balanced colours and, most impressively, really convincing black levels.

Now I'm sure an OLED would show it up in a side-by-side test, but considering the price and capabilities of this TV, I was really impressed with how dark blacks came across on this TV.

Better still, dark scenes weren't compromised with obvious patches of blooming, which added to the experience and made them look even more convincing.

It's really hard for a backlit TV to excel in doing this, and we've seen many Mini LED TVs falter at this hurdle. However, the TCL C7K refuses to do so.

The best news about all of this is that the 65-inch model is currently discounted for Black Friday, meaning you can pick it up for just £749 at Currys, down from £899.

TCL is known for its budget TVs, but that doesn't mean it cuts back on features. This TV sports a staggering 1008 dimming zones and features a claimed peak brightness of 2800 nits.

Paired with a 4K/144Hz panel, two HDMI 2.1 sockets that support high-performance gaming with VRR and ALLM, a sound system tuned by none other than Bang & Olufsen, and support for both Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, this TV begins to look more premium than its price suggests.

However, the real magic comes with TCL's new Halo Control system, which mitigates the drawbacks of the Mini LED backlight for more precise blacks. I think this is the real ace up TCL's sleeve, as it works a treat on the C7K.

This plays a crucial role in the reduction of blooming, which makes dark scenes look much more immersive. Black depths on this TV are shockingly impressive for a backlit model, especially at this price, meaning you can get an experience that's not a million miles off OLED for a much lower price.

The TCL remains my top pick for a 65-inch TV under £1000 this Black Friday, and it will certainly appeal to anyone looking to avoid OLED, especially with it being priced at just £749 at Currys.