TCL has today announced new TV ranges for 2023 including the high-end C845 with up to 896 miniLED dimming zones, an improved video processor, 240Hz 1080p support, and Google TV.

In addition to the mid-range C645 announced earlier this month, TCL will launch the C745 (55, 65, 75 inches) and C845 (55, 65, 75, 85 inches). These will compete directly with Samsung's 'Neo QLED' LCD models and Sony's X90L and miniLED LCD X95L.

Last year's P635, P638, P735, C735 (including the 98") and C935 will, for now, carry over into 2023.


 TCL C845

Marek Maciejewski, Product Development Director Europe, told FlatpanelsHD that C745 will be positioned as a gaming TV with enhanced gaming features while C845 is a versatile high-end model with twice the number of dimming zones of last year's model; 480, 576, 720 and 896 zones in 55, 65, 75 and 85 inches, respectively.

This is still not as many dimming zones as last year's C935, which will remain the flagship in the line-up for now, but additional new ranges will join the line-up later this year around IFA time.

TCL produces its own panels under subsidiary company CSOT and also supplies panels to some of its direct competitors in the TV market, which is why TCL in recent years has been able to match or exceed competitors in LCD display technology while undercutting their prices. The Chinese company is looking to further capitalize on its position of strength this year. TCL is, for example, the only manufacturer of a 98-inch LCD panel at this time.


 TCL C845

Improvements in C845 & C745
C845 is the highlight of the show at this week's announcement. Compared to last year's C835, C845 now also comes in 85 inches.

Marek Maciejewski told FlatpanelsHD that C845 has a brighter panel with up to 2000 nits peak brightness – up from 1500 nits in C835 – and a new video processor called 'AiPQ 3.0' with improvements for HDR tone-mapping and HDR processing in general. Like its competitors, TCL refers to it as "AI" because certain deep learnings techniques are used in the TV's upscaling and video enhancement functions.

The same processor is found in C745 and both models have enhanced gaming features including support for 144Hz at 4K resolution or 240Hz at 1080p resolution from, for example, a PC – what TCL refers to as 'Game Accelerator 240' but the technology is also known as DLG (Dual-Line Gate). There is a new GameBar 2.0 with quick access to gaming-related settings.


 TCL's GameBar 2.0

C745 has fewer dimming zones than C845: 140, 160 and 220 in 55, 65, and 75 inches to be exact and up to 1000 nits peak brightness, up from 350 nits in C735. Part of the reason for this is that C745 does not utilize a miniLED backlight, but it should still be a good step up from last year's C735 that did not feature local dimming (except the 98-inch C735, which does have dimming 192 zones).

Other gaming features include two HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K 120Hz (or 144Hz) and VRR input from PCs or game consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Marek Maciejewski said that input lag is down to 5ms on 4K 144Hz inputs. They support ALLM for automatic switching into and out of Game mode.

The chipsets are the same as in last year's models. We do not know if TCL will transition to the Pentonic chips in the future but at least it will not happen in the first half of 2023.

We hope to finally get one of TCL's 2023 models on the test bench this year to verify the claims.


 TCL C745

Google TVs with Apple features
All of TCL's European models run Google TV with access to streaming apps such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix.

 Also read: TCL unveils 65-98" QM850G miniLED LCD TVs with up to 2300 dimming zones

 TCL's new remote control for 2023
There is built-in Chromecast but also Apple's TV features, AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. In addition, the 2023 models will be TCL's first to be Matter compatible meaning that the TVs can be remote controlled from Matter controllers.

Speaking of remote control, TCL has a new remote control for 2023 with a streamlined design but also several sponsored buttons for streaming services.

Marek Maciejewski noted that the 240Hz capabilities can also be used with TV content at HD resolution meaning that the TV is capable of doing motion interpolation to 240Hz, if you prefer to use motion smoothing.

Unlike some competitors, TCL supports both Dolby and DTS audio formats. The built-in speakers are 2.1-channel systems so support for the more advanced audio formats such as Dolby Atmos these capabilities should be seen mostly as an advantage in situations where you want to output audio to a receiver or soundbar via HDMI eARC in the TVs.

Additional specifications can be found in the TV Database by clicking the model names below. C645, C745 and C845 will be available in Europe soon. Pricing details will be announced soon.

2023 TCL TV models – specifications
 FlatpanelsHD