Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

TCL’s 8K 6-Series mini-LED TVs are shockingly affordable

TCL has been teasing us for months, making us wait to hear how much the company will charge for its 8K resolution 6-Series mini-LED QLED TVs. Now we know, and boy, was it worth the wait. The 75-inch model is just $3,000, while the smaller, 65-inch version rings in at $2,200. They both go on sale today with limited availability at major retailers.

To put those prices in perspective, LG and Samsung — the only other companies that have mini-LED-based 8K TVs in 2021 — charge $3,500 for their most affordable 65-inch models and $4,800 for their 75-inch models.

Yes, you may be able to find older 8K models selling for less than TCL’s 6-Series, but keep in mind, those 8K TVs do not use mini-LED backlights, which can make a significant difference in terms of contrast and black levels. For more on the benefits of mini-LED technology check out our mini-LED explainer, but here’s the summary: Mini-LEDs are far smaller than regular LEDs, which means you can pack more of them into a TV’s backlight system. The more you have (think thousands instead of hundreds), the greater the control you can exert on the brightness at a granular level. TCL’s 8K 6-Series possess up to 240 zones that can be locally dimmed.

Other than possessing a massive boost in resolution, TCL’s new 8K 6-Series looks much like its 4K 6-Series models. They’re powered by Roku’s excellent smart TV software, they support both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision technologies for top-notch immersive sound and high dynamic range (HDR) video, and they pack useful extras like Apple’s AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, and compatibility with Google Assitant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri for voice control.

TCL also points out that its 8K 6-Series will be the world’s first 8K TV to sport THX Certified Game Mode. This coordinates several TV settings like picture processing, input lag, variable refresh rate (VRR), and auto low-latency mode (ALLM) to give gamers the best possible experience when playing fast-action titles like Call of Duty.

A TCL 8K 6-Series TV showing Call of Duty Warzone in THX's Certified Game Mode.
TCL USA

TCL was the first company to use mini-LEDs in its backlights when it introduced its 8-Series in 2019. That TV impressed us with its black level performance, as did 2020’s follow-up, the mini-LED-equipped 6-Series. But both of those models had 4K resolution. The new 8K models will be the first time we get to see what TCL can do with a 33 million-pixel panel, and it will be an excellent test of its AiPQ Engine — the processor that is responsible for (among other things) upscaling Full HD and 4K content to 8K resolution.

Want to know if TCL’s first 8K TV is a winner? Read our in-depth TCL 8K 6-Series (R648) review. Spoiler: It’s pretty sweet.

Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…
Hisense just debuted the world’s largest mini-LED TV at 100 inches
100-inch Hisense U8K 4K mini-LED TV.

Hisense now makes the world's largest mini-LED backlit 4K TV: the 100-inch U8K TV. It announced the new TV at CEDIA Expo, the annual conference for AV professionals and installers, taking place in Denver, CO from September 7-9. The new TV might be the world's biggest, but its price is surprisingly accessible (at least, for a TV of this size) at $10,000. Hisense's TVs are often deeply discounted, sometimes as soon as they go on sale, so we expect this price to drop soon. It will be available from retailers like Best Buy and Amazon later this fall.

"Popularity and consumer interest in big screens continues to grow," said David Gold, President of Hisense USA, in a press release. "While our laser TV lineup can reach up to an impressive 300-inches, we also wanted to offer an option that showcases Hisense’s superior mini-LED experience, and there was no better choice than what’s proving to be our most award-winning TV to date: the U8K Series. We’re the only brand offering mini-LED at the 100-inch size, at this performance level, with this feature set, and a value package."

Read more
Samsung’s biggest Neo QLED 8K TV comes with an equally huge price
Samsung 98-inch QN990C Neo QLED 8K TV.

Samsung has released a new 8K TV and it's the company's biggest Neo QLED so far. The 98-inch class Samsung QN990C Neo QLED 8K TV can be ordered starting September 6 from samsung.com for an eye-watering $40,000.

As you'd expect for this kind of investment, Samsung has thrown all of its best TV tech at this giant 8K screen. Its Neural Quantum Processor uses AI-based formulas to upscale any content to 8K. It uses a full array local dimming (FALD) mini-LED backlight system with quantum dots, which can deliver more than a billion colors and high contrast, with support for HDR10+. With a stated peak brightness of about 2,000 nits, the QN990C should have no trouble making HDR material look its best.

Read more
Denon AVR-X6800H: 8K everywhere and Dirac Live compatibility
Denon AVR-X6800H AV receiver.

Denon has taken the wraps off its next AV receiver, the AVR-X6800H, which features 11.4-channels (13.4 processing) for a variety of surround sound setups, including Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, IMAX Enhanced, and Auro 3D. Denon hasn't released the price or the specific availability date for the AVR-X6800H, saying only that you'll be able to buy the new receiver at the beginning of 2024.

As the model name suggests, the AVR-X6800H is the new version of the AVR-X6700H, one of the only Denon models that didn't get a refresh in 2022. The AVR-X6700H currently sells for $2,999, so we're guessing the X6800H won't be a big departure from its predecessor when it comes to price.

Read more