TCL 75X11L Mini LED TV Review

With a large number of backlight zones, a peak brightness close to 4000 cd/m², a 144 Hz panel and a Bang & Olufsen audio system, the TCL X11L sets out to establish itself among the best Mini LED televisions available. The set examined here is the 75-inch TCL 75X11L.

TCL is now pushing for a genuine foothold in the premium segment. The manufacturer had already made an impression with its various C89 generations, capable of very high brightness.

For 2026 the formula continues with the C89L, while the X11 series — previously available only in very large sizes and, in practice, hard to find at retailers, especially bricks-and-mortar ones — has been reworked. The X11L addresses both problems.

It sits above the C89L in the range. It carries over the SQD Mini LED technology of its smaller sibling, but adds a greater number of backlight zones, a noticeably more considered design and a more substantial Bang & Olufsen audio system with a small soundbar integrated into the bottom of the screen. TCL's aim is to offer an alternative both to the best current OLED sets, such as the LG G6 and Samsung S99H, and to rival RGB Mini LED models including the Samsung R95H and Sony Bravia 9 II. The television is also offered in 85-inch and 98-inch sizes.

The brightness and colorimetry measurements reported here were produced with a Jeti specbos 2501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter and CalMAN Ultimate software.

To underline its premium status, the X11L is given a more considered design than the C89L. A bronze-coloured grille runs across the whole lower section of the screen to conceal the Bang & Olufsen audio system. The finish adds a more premium touch and sets the set apart from the many Mini LED models with fairly generic styling.

The chassis is also very slim for a Mini LED. It does not reach the slenderness of an LG G6 or Samsung S99H, both designed with wall mounting in mind, but TCL has genuinely contained the overall depth.

The set rests on two feet placed towards the edges. That is a logical choice given the weight and the screen size, but it means a fairly wide unit is required, especially for the 85-inch and 98-inch versions. A central pedestal, as on the Sony Bravia 9 II, would have been easier to accommodate. The feet do at least give the set good stability.

Connections comprise four HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB-A ports (one of them USB 3.2, placed on the side), an Ethernet port, an optical audio output and the aerial connectors. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 are also on board.

The X11L runs Google TV, one of the most complete interfaces on the market, carrying all the main streaming apps including Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV and HBO Max. Chromecast is built in for casting from a phone or tablet. Navigation is generally fluid and the settings menus are easy enough to follow, though the home page is fairly crowded with recommendations.

The remote follows the premium approach of recent TCL models. Its metal finish is pleasant, the main streaming platforms have their own shortcuts and a microphone allows voice commands. Buttons on the side edge let you quickly change brightness or picture profile, and it is backlit — a detail that remains too rare and is genuinely useful when watching a film in the dark.

The X11L uses a VA-type LCD panel paired with an SQD Mini LED backlight. The technology relies on enhanced quantum dots to achieve more saturated colours and cover a large part of the Rec.2020 space without resorting to an RGB Mini LED backlight of the kind Sony, Samsung and Hisense use on some of their flagship models.

Filmmaker mode was selected for the most natural image. In that profile the average delta E measured 2.2 in SDR. That is a very satisfactory result, since it sits below the threshold of 3 beyond which drift becomes clearly visible, although it is slightly above 2. Some shades may therefore stray very slightly from the reference, particularly whites, reds and blues, without being especially troublesome in use.

Average gamma came in at 2.2. That is a little lower than the 2.4 usually sought for cinema viewing in a darkened room, so the image looks slightly brighter than it should. The setting suits a lit living room well, but it is not really the cinephile's ideal.

Average colour temperature measured 6760 K, so the image runs slightly cool against the 6500 K video reference, though the gap remains moderate.

Maximum SDR brightness was recorded at 715 cd/m². That is excellent, and the X11L will have no difficulty at all in a bright living room. This reserve of brightness also partly compensates for its rather average anti-reflective treatment.

Contrast, as expected of a Mini LED, is very good. The very high number of backlight zones allows the local dimming to control light precisely and produce deep blacks in most scenes. Even so, zone-based control cannot match the individual pixels of an OLED. The LG G6 and Samsung S99H therefore retain deeper blacks in dark scenes, and better micro-contrast.

Viewing angles remain the main weakness of this VA panel. A considerable brightness loss of 68 % was measured at 45°. As soon as you move off axis the image loses a great deal of intensity, colours wash out and blooming increases sharply. This is a long way from OLED and QD-OLED sets and their excellent viewing angles.

The X11L supports every HDR format on the market: HDR10, HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision.

EOTF tracking proved broadly convincing in Filmmaker mode although, as in SDR, greys are slightly brighter than they should be.

Peak brightness is obviously one of the X11L's main arguments. A reading of 3930 cd/m² was recorded on a window covering 10 % of the panel. In practice, then, the set comes close to 4000 cd/m² and clearly beats the C89L, which is limited to around 3120 cd/m² on the same pattern. It also comfortably outstrips the LG G6, which reaches 2340 cd/m² on a 10 % window, and the Samsung S99H, measured at roughly 2900 cd/m². The Sony Bravia 9 II keeps a slight lead with more than 4300 cd/m².

TCL therefore ranks among the brightest televisions available without quite taking the top spot.

On a small 2 % window the reading was 2556 cd/m². That remains very high, but the behaviour differs from the LG G6, which climbs beyond 3100 cd/m² on very small areas by concentrating power briefly on a handful of pixels. The TCL is a little less spectacular on tiny specular highlights, despite its clear advantage on a 10 % window.

Full screen, the X11L reaches 725 cd/m². That is almost the level of its maximum SDR brightness and far more than the 460 cd/m² of the LG G6 or the roughly 500 cd/m² of the Samsung S99H. The Sony Bravia 9 II and Hisense UR9S go further still, approaching 1000 cd/m², but the TCL result is very convincing.

HDR colorimetry is excellent, with an average delta E of only 1.8. Drift is virtually invisible and the set reproduces colour with even greater precision than in SDR.

Colour space coverage is also impressive, at 98.3 % of DCI-P3 and 90.2 % of Rec.2020. That places it clearly ahead of most WOLED panels, the LG G6 being limited to around 82 % of Rec.2020. The Samsung S99H with its QD-OLED panel keeps an advantage on the saturation of certain colours, as do some RGB Mini LED sets, but TCL demonstrates once again that its SQD Mini LED technology can deliver very wide coverage without an RGB backlight.

Reflectance measured 24 %. That is acceptable in absolute terms, with the worst performers approaching 40 %, but it is disappointing for a flagship set, particularly as every rival now offers an effective solution at this level of the market.

The LG G6 does considerably better at 17 % while keeping a glossy panel. The Hisense UR9S drops to 15 % with a more matte coating, and the Sony Bravia 9 II falls to around 10 % with an excellent result. The Samsung S99H is the most effective of all thanks to its Glare Free treatment, which takes it down to barely 6 %.

Fortunately the X11L's enormous brightness reserve keeps it readable in most situations, but during dark scenes the whole room reflects in the screen.

No troublesome clouding was noted on the sample. Flat fields are uniform and there was no light leakage at the edges of the panel. Banding is also very well controlled and gradients show no distracting stepping.

Blooming, on the other hand, has not disappeared entirely. The high zone count and effective local dimming keep haloes around bright objects well contained, but Mini LED technology remains imperfect. Head on, the effect is generally quite discreet and the overall showing is very convincing, probably a little better than the C89L. Move off to the side, however, and the haloes become distinctly more visible, as on every Mini LED. OLED remains unbeatable on this point.

Reflections aside, and because the panel coating is glossy, blacks are not washed out in a bright room, unlike some rival sets.

The X11L has a native 144 Hz panel. That allows 4K at 120 Hz from consoles and a little more headroom on PC. The set supports the features expected at this level, including VRR and ALLM, with a dedicated menu for quick access to the main gaming settings.

Input lag measured 12.1 ms at 1080p and 60 Hz. That is an excellent result, since the delay between a controller input and its appearance on screen is imperceptible. At 120 Hz the figure falls to 6.4 ms, making the X11L thoroughly suited to competitive gaming.

Response time, by contrast, is 16 ms. That is a decent result for an LCD panel, though a long way from the 0.1 ms of OLED televisions, so some blur may be visible during very fast movement, particularly in competitive shooters and racing games.

Colorimetry is well controlled with Game mode enabled, returning an SDR delta E of 2.8 and an HDR delta E of 2.1.

The connections suit gamers, since all four HDMI ports are HDMI 2.1 compatible. A PlayStation 5, an Xbox Series, a PC and an eARC soundbar can therefore all be connected without juggling cables, which was not the case in previous years.

The X11L integrates an audio system developed in partnership with Bang & Olufsen. A small soundbar sits at the front of the television behind the copper-coloured grille below the panel, an arrangement that directs voices and effects more effectively towards the viewer. There are also surround drivers on the sides in addition to woofers at the rear.

The result is effective overall, with bass distinctly more present than on entry-level models, though without genuinely deep low frequencies — most likely a consequence of a very slim chassis. Stereo reproduction is well defined, but spatialisation was a slight disappointment. Despite the number of drivers, the soundstage does not extend much beyond the edges of the television and the vertical effects are not especially convincing; the Sony Bravia 9 II does considerably better on surround. Several audio profiles are offered, though the best approach may be to start from the custom mode via the Beosound firmware, since the Film mode overdoes things somewhat. In any case, a good soundbar or a dedicated system will deliver a far more immersive experience.

Average consumption measured 77.1 W on the standard test pattern, which works out at 49.7 W/m². The first figure may look high in absolute terms, but the 75-inch screen size has to be taken into account; relative to panel area, consumption is in fact very well controlled for a Mini LED television, close even to the highly efficient LG G6, which is a strong showing for an LCD set. In HDR, however, consumption rises sharply: 0.300 kWh was recorded over a two-hour film, equivalent to 96.7 W/m², or roughly twice the figure of LG's OLEDs.

The X11L is not an easy set to take apart, which was the weak point of an otherwise good durability assessment.