VERDICT
HOME CINEMA CHOICE SEPTEMBER 20193
62 REVIEWS
her silhouette and the metallic handles of her twin swords.
Her features become visible as she preps for action. It all
feels true to the cinematography, with nothing overstressed
nor any telltale backlight fl icker.
Lighting details in this scene, from the troops' torches
to the emergency buttons and wall-lights, have a tangible
intensity beyond the fi lm's SDR counterpart.Nudge this, tweak that
While there are calibration tools including gamma, white
balance and black level adjustment, many end users will
stick to the basics. A Dynamic Contrast option andsoftware-delivered Micro Dimming tool yield subtle
diff erences. The former, which brings a little more punch
without going overboard, is probably worth leaving on.
Something else to juggle with is TCL's Sharpness
tool, found within the 'Clarity' sub-menu in the picture
adjustment settings. In both the Standard and Dynamic
image presets, this is set to 50 (on a scale of 0-100),
while on Movie its default is zero. You might fi nd giving
it a nudge (to between 20 and 40, say) delivers a more
impactful 4K image.
Of the presets, Movie is the obvious choice for lights-
down viewing, showcasing a fi lmic colour temperature
and the most dialled-in black levels.
The TV's limited native brightness and lack of precise
illumination has a knock on eff ect around the TV's colour
handling. While this wide colour panel means such fare
off ers the expected expanded palette and richer hues,
such as Aquaman's golden armour or Orm's purple tunic
in Aquaman, the 55EP668 doesn't possess the colour
volume to do total justice to the movie's near psychedelic
underwater locales. As the amassed armies trade
green and blue laser fi re during the climactic battle
(Chapter 13), and fi reballs fl y through the air, the scenejust doesn't have the in-yer-face impact it was designed
to in the grading suite.
Colours on occasion lack fi nesse. Some of the various
orange tones during Blade Runner 2049's Las Vegas scenes
(Ultra HD Blu-ray) appear unsubtly painted compared to
more adept displays. But I'd still argue the performance
is commendable considering this TV's size and price tag.
For SDR content, TCL provides an upconversion to
HDR mode (Smart HDR), but I can never imagine myself
wanting to watch this. With The Magnifi cent Seven (2016
remake, Ultra HD Blu-ray), it took Antoine Fuqua's already
quite saturated colour palette and ramped it up, turning
background foliage almost luminescent green, and
introducing a blueish tint to whites. It's a high price to
pay for the boosted visual impact.
Sound performance is a bit disappointing, not helped
by downfi ring speakers. There's a lack of dynamics here
that dampens down explosive movie moments. When the
Magnifi cent Seven make their magnifi cent defence of the
Rose Creek town, gunshots, explosions and whinnying
equines miss a level of attack and separation.Unleash the high-end!
This well-priced 55-incher has its limitations. The most
obvious is its mediocre brightness, which doesn't extract
the most benefi ts from 4K HDR content. Meanwhile, its
sonic performance warrants the addition of an external
sound system.
Yet for an aff ordable largescreen TV for Blu-ray/4K
Blu-ray watching, the 55EP668 still has much going for
it. The unfussy backlighting approach provides the basis
for solid visuals, and your £500 gets you a 55in TV
with a stylish design. For TCL to really make waves in
the UK market, however, surely it's time to unleash its
higher-end models? QSPECIFICATIONS
3D: No 4 K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG TUNER: Yes. Freeview Play;
satellite CONNECTIONS: 3 x HDMI; Ethernet; 2 x USB; digital optical audio output;
headphone output SOUND (CLAIMED): 2 x 10W BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 400 nits
CONTRAST (CLAIMED): 'Mega' dynamic DIMENSIONS (OFF STAND): 1,229(w) x 715(h)
x 76(d)mm WEIGHT (OFF STAND): 13kg
FEATURES: Onboard Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; VOD via Freeview Play, Netfl ix (4K), YouTube
(4K) and more; Dynamic Contrast; Micro Dimming; wide colour gamut; Amazon
Alexa support; Smart HDR mode; Movie, Standard, Dynamic, Sports, Game
picture presets; USB/DLNA multimedia playback; HDMI ARC via HDMI 3LG SL4Y: Selling for just £180,
LG's entry-level system still
manages to add a 6in
external subwoofer to its
stereo soundbar, and off ers
the brand's ASC real-time
equalization to get the best
from sources. Can be used
with LG's SPK8 wireless rears.PARTNER WITH
TCL 55EP 668
« £500 « http://www.tcl.eu/uk
WE SAY: The omission of Dolby Vision is surprising even at this
price, but when it comes to wide-colour 4K images this
neat-looking 55in TCL benefi ts from stable illumination.'Unfussy backlighting
provides the basis for solid
visuals, and £500 gets you a
55in TV with a stylish design'
- The open stand
is sturdy and won't
dominate your
AV furniture