TCL 97.5" Review

The TCL QM7L 98-inch Mini-LED TV offers a best-in-class picture with incredible brightness and strong gaming features at a price that undercuts the competition. It's a fantastic value for a giant screen, but plan to add external audio. If you want a huge, bright home theater centerpiece, this is it.

If you're hunting for a massive 98-inch TV that doesn't cost as much as a car, the TCL QM7L is probably on your radar. It's a 4K Mini-LED behemoth that promises a lot of screen for your money, with specs like a 144Hz refresh rate for gaming and a claimed 3,000 nits of peak brightness for HDR. We're looking at a TV that wants to be your all-in-one entertainment center for movies, sports, and gaming, all running on Google TV. The big question is whether TCL's tech can deliver a premium picture on such a giant scale without the usual giant price tag.

Let's talk about the picture, because that's where this TV aims to shine. In our testing, the QM7L's picture quality scores in the 99th percentile, which is a fancy way of saying it's one of the absolute best we've seen right now. That 3,000-nit peak brightness is no joke. It makes HDR content from Dolby Vision and HDR10+ pop with an intensity that can feel almost theatrical. The Mini-LED backlight with its many dimming zones does a strong job of keeping blacks deep and contrast high, though you might see some slight blooming around bright objects on a dark screen if you're looking for it. For gaming, that 144Hz native panel is a real treat. Input lag is low, and motion handling is smooth, putting its gaming performance well above average. Just know that to hit that 144Hz, you'll need a compatible HDMI 2.1 source, like a modern PC or PlayStation 5.

At around $3,000, the value proposition here is simple: massive screen, premium picture. You are getting near-flagship-level picture technology in a 98-inch package for thousands less than similar-sized models from Sony or Samsung. The trade-off comes in areas like the built-in audio and the middling smart TV processor speed. But if your priority is screen size and image quality per dollar, this TV is very hard to beat.

This TV sits in a interesting spot. The most direct competitor is the Sony Bravia 98-inch LED, which will likely have slightly better motion processing and upscaling but costs significantly more. The other big competition isn't in size, but in technology: OLED TVs like the LG C5 series. A 77-inch OLED will offer perfect blacks and better viewing angles, but it can't match the sheer brightness or size of this TCL, and it's often more expensive per inch. For a similar price, you could also look at a high-end 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED, which would be brighter and have better smart features, but you're giving up over 30 inches of screen. It really comes down to whether you want the biggest possible canvas or the absolute best pixel-level contrast.

Skip this TV if you have a small room or sit very close to the screen, as 98 inches will be overwhelming. Also, if you watch TV primarily in a pitch-black room and are sensitive to even slight backlight blooming, a smaller OLED would be a better fit. Finally, if you want the absolute best smart TV interface with the fastest menus, there are more responsive options out there, though Google TV here is perfectly fine.

So, should you buy the TCL QM7L? If you have the wall space and the budget for a 98-inch TV, and your main goal is a breathtaking, bright, and detailed picture for movies and gaming, then yes, this is an easy recommendation. It delivers a top-tier viewing experience that makes most content look fantastic. However, you should plan to budget for a separate audio system from day one, as the built-in speakers just don't do the picture justice. If you watch in a very wide room where people sit at sharp angles, or if you are a purist who hates any hint of backlight blooming, you might want to consider a smaller OLED instead.