Size-queen? Or size-king? Whatever the case, you’ll love TCL South Africa’s latest entry on the TV market – the absolutely mahoosive 115in QD-Mini LED X955 Max. That’s assuming you’ve got the necessary wall space, a large enough doorframe to fit it through, and the capital of a small nation’s GDP.
Fortunately, TCL knows its market. At the company’s launch event last night in Sandton (after it found a venue large enough to host the X955 Max), it brought along the rest of its 2024 TV line-up, sporting price tags with far fewer digits than their flagship companion. Those include the higher-end C855, and the C755 and C655.
Let’s get this over with, shall we?
We’re only going to say this once, okay? TCL’s X955 Max, a 115-incher rocking QD-Mini LED tech, ‘only’ costs a measly R400,000. With those sorts of bucks, you could pick up not one, but two almost-new 2024 Suzuki Swifts, and still have R2 left over for some petrol on the way home. TCL is sweetening the deal, however, by including a ‘free’ 98in P745, though that offer only stands until the end of July. Best get a move on.
For the price you’re paying, TCL does at least throw a whole lot of TV your way. We’ve already mentioned its vast size, but it’s the technology inside that’s worthier of note. Packed under the pretty pictures is a 4K UHD panel running TCL’s quantum dot (QD) Mini LED tech. With more than 20,000 local dimming zones and 5,000 nits of brightness, the X955 certainly lives up to the hype when seen in person. Preferably from a distance.
Dolby’s Atmos and Vision tech is also involved (you damn well bet it is) and only accentuates TCL’s choice of sound system here: a 6.2.2 from Onkyo. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ll be more than happy with the sound quality.
Dolby Vision IQ, IMAX enhancements, and HDR10+ are also on the table, as is 144Hz VRR – which should suffice for the PlayStation and Xbox gamers out there, whose consoles aren’t rated to go above 120Hz anyway. Cinema nerds might tell you that a 70mm showing at the cinema can’t be beaten (we would know) but for the average folk? It’ll be hard to tell the difference when wrapped up in a warm blanket in front of this behemoth.
Now that’s more like it
If you aren’t already welcome in the good parking spots at your office, the X955 is likely out of your price range. But TCL’s other newcomers – the aforementioned C855, C755, and C655 – might be more your speed. It’s not what we call “cheap”, but their prices won’t have you crying out in horror, either.
Up first is the C855, probably the next best thing TCL has on shelves, which comes in a single flavour – 65in. It’ll cost R25,000 sure, but brings 3,500 nits, 2160 local dimming zones, 144Hz VVR, and of course, QD-Mini LED tech. There’s an AI processor shoved in there (it is 2024), as well as 2.1 HDMI ports ’round the back. If the company’s ancestor, the C835 is anything to go by, the C855 should be well worth the dough.
Featuring slightly smaller numbers is the C755, another distant relative of something that has already passed through Stuff’s offices, the C745. There’s more choice when it comes to size, arriving in 98in, 85in, 65in, and 55in variants. We’ll get to the prices in a minute. It’s another QD-Mini LED, with fewer local dimming zones coming in 500+ and only 1,300 HDR nits. It’s still got 144Hz VRR, HDR10+, FreeSync Premium Pro, and Dolby integration to look forward to.
Finally, there’s the C655 QLED, TCL’s most budget offering of the night. Not only are there more sizes to choose from than all the rest, but it’s easily recommendable thanks to its cheap price, Dolby Vision/Atmos functionality, HDR10+, and 144Hz refresh rate (though that last bit is reserved only for the 98in model). The rest? They’ll be condemned to using the 120Hz Game Accelerator feature to get your kicks in.
TCL C755 QD-Mini LED prices:
- 98in – R70,000
- 85in – R30,000
- 65in – R17,000
- 55in – R12,000
TCL C655 QLED prices:
- 98in – R50,000
- 85in – R23,000
- 75in – R16,000
- 65in – R10,000
- 55in – R8,000
TCL confirmed it was partnering with Massmart’s South African players, Game and Makro, from here on out. They join the company’s already established partners of Hi-Fi Corp, Takealot, Pick n’ Pay, and Incredible Connection, meaning you’ve got plenty of ways to look at (but not touch, please), the monster that is the X955.