TCL TVs at RC Willey

A decade ago, buying a large, high-performance television meant accepting one of two realities: pay a premium for a major-brand flagship, or settle for a budget TV that looked the part but couldn't back it up. TCL changed that equation — and it hasn't looked back since.

Today TCL is the world's second-largest TV brand by shipment volume, behind only Samsung. In 2024 alone, the brand shipped 29 million televisions globally — a 14.8% jump year over year. More impressively, TCL holds the number-one position globally for ultra-large screens 85 inches and above, for Mini LED TVs, and for Google TVs. These aren't participation trophies. They reflect a brand that figured out how to deliver premium display performance at a price that makes a genuinely wide range of households say yes.

At RC Willey, we carry TCL TVs across a range of sizes and series. Browse all the brands we carry at RC Willey to discover what's available and find the right fit for your home.

The Brand Behind the TV

TCL was founded in 1981 in Huizhou, China — originally as a small cassette tape manufacturer. Over the following decades it expanded steadily into consumer electronics, entered the TV market in the 1990s, and by the early 2000s had positioned itself as a global player through strategic acquisitions and partnerships.

The turning point was a series of bold, forward-looking decisions. In 2009, TCL established China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT), investing in its own display panel manufacturing facilities — a move that would prove to be the foundation of everything TCL does well today. Most TV brands buy their panels from external suppliers. TCL makes its own. This vertical integration — owning the manufacturing of the most expensive components in a television — is the single biggest reason TCL can deliver display technology that competes with brands charging far more.

The brand's record of industry firsts is substantial: TCL introduced the world's first big-screen QLED TV in 2014 and pioneered the first consumer Mini LED TV in 2019 — a technology that every major TV brand has since adopted. TCL also launched the first Roku TV in 2014, which WIRED called "the first Smart TV worth using." The brand has invested over $30 billion in its manufacturing and R&D facilities and operates in more than 160 countries.

Why TCL Is Worth Your Attention

1. Vertical Integration Means You Pay for the TV, Not the Middleman: TCL designs, engineers, manufactures, and tests its own display panels through CSOT. That means the costs that come from sourcing panels from third-party suppliers — and the margin those suppliers take — don't apply to TCL. The result is a television with premium component quality at a price point competitors can't easily match.
2. Mini LED Pioneer, Not a Follower: TCL invented the consumer Mini LED TV category in 2019. Every other brand selling Mini LED today is following a path TCL blazed. That head start shows in the brand's current lineup — the QM series Mini LED TVs feature thousands of local dimming zones, extraordinary brightness levels, and a level of contrast performance that was once exclusive to displays costing far more.
3. A Full Lineup From Everyday to Exceptional: TCL doesn't just make one class of TV. The lineup spans from entry-level screens for secondary rooms and smaller budgets all the way to a 115-inch flagship that's one of the most technically capable consumer televisions on the planet. Whatever your room, your budget, and your use case — TCL has a model built for it.
4. Google TV Built In: The majority of TCL's current lineup runs Google TV — one of the cleanest, most intuitive smart TV platforms available. All your streaming apps, voice search with Google Assistant, and smart home integration are built in and work together seamlessly without the need for an external streaming stick.
5. Purpose-Built for Gaming: TCL's Q and QM series include features that serious gamers actually use: HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K at 120Hz input, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) up to 144Hz and beyond with Game Accelerator, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), and a dedicated Game Bar menu for quick access to gaming settings. You don't have to hunt through menus to optimize for gaming — TCL makes it straightforward.

Not sure which size TCL TV is right for your room? A quick rule of thumb: for most living rooms, multiply your viewing distance (in feet) by roughly 8 to find a comfortable screen size in inches. Sitting 10 feet away? A 75- to 85-inch screen hits the sweet spot.

The TCL TV Lineup — What's What

Understanding TCL's lineup is straightforward once you know the naming logic. The brand organizes its TVs into two main families — the Q Series (performance-focused) and the S Series (value-focused) — with the QM sub-series representing the premium tier within Q.

Q Series and QM Series — Premium Performance

The Q and QM Series are where TCL focuses its display technology. The current hierarchy in the U.S. market looks like this:

QD-Mini LED — found in the QM7K, QM8K, and flagship models — combines Mini LED backlighting with Quantum Dot film. The result is not just brighter than standard Mini LED but also more color-accurate, hitting over 97% of the DCI-P3 color gamut that professional filmmakers use as their standard.

S Series — Everyday Value

The S Series covers TCL's more accessible price points, designed for secondary rooms, smaller spaces, and buyers who want a reliable, feature-complete TV without the premium display technology of the Q line.

Even S Series TVs come with Google TV and support for major HDR formats — they're not feature-stripped bare-bones sets. They simply trade display brightness and contrast for a lower price point.

Size Options

TCL's scale means it can offer screen sizes competitors can't. The current lineup spans from 32 inches all the way to 115 inches, with particularly strong 85-inch and 98-inch options across multiple series. TCL held the number-one global position for ultra-large screen TVs in 2024.

Key Technologies — Explained Simply

Mini LED: Instead of a small number of large LEDs behind the screen, Mini LED TVs use thousands of much smaller LEDs grouped into independently controlled dimming zones. More zones mean more precise control of brightness and darkness across the screen simultaneously — delivering deeper blacks in dark scenes and brighter highlights without one washing out the other.

QD-Mini LED: Adds a Quantum Dot layer to Mini LED backlighting. Quantum dots are nano-sized particles that convert backlight into pure, accurate colors. The combination produces both the contrast benefits of Mini LED and the color accuracy of Quantum Dot — the best of both technologies in a single panel.

AiPQ Processor: TCL's image processing chip that works in real time to analyze and optimize the image on screen — adjusting contrast, color, clarity, and motion handling based on the content being displayed. Scene recognition automatically adapts the picture mode to what you're watching.

HDMI 2.1: The current-generation HDMI standard that supports 4K at 120 frames per second — required for gaming on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at their highest performance settings.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR): Synchronizes the TV's refresh rate to the frame rate being output by a gaming console or PC, eliminating screen tearing and reducing input lag for a smoother gaming experience.

Take a Moment Before You Decide

• Do TCL TVs hold up over time — or are they budget quality? TCL's upper-tier models — particularly the QM7K and QM8K — use the same panel technology found in premium competitors, because TCL manufactures those panels itself through CSOT. The quality gap between TCL and brands like Samsung or LG has narrowed significantly at the display level. Where differences exist, they tend to show up in areas like smart platform polish, sound system quality (most TVs at this price benefit from a soundbar regardless of brand), and some processing refinements. For picture quality per dollar, TCL competes at the top of the market.
• How many HDMI 2.1 ports does a TCL TV have? Most TCL QM-series models include two HDMI 2.1 ports — enough for the most common gaming setups, but worth knowing if you plan to connect multiple high-performance devices simultaneously. Standard HDMI ports are also included for additional connections.
• Is Google TV easy to use if I'm not tech-savvy? Yes. Google TV is designed around simplicity — a home screen that surfaces content from all your streaming services in one place, voice search via "Hey Google," and app support covering every major streaming platform. It's one of the most intuitive smart TV platforms currently available and tends to be familiar to anyone who uses an Android phone or Google products.
• What size TCL TV should I buy for my living room? Measure your viewing distance first. Most experts suggest a viewing distance of 1.5 times the diagonal screen size for 4K content. For a 75-inch TV, that means sitting roughly 9 to 10 feet away for an immersive but comfortable experience. If your room is larger, go bigger — most shoppers consistently report they wish they'd bought a larger screen.

FAQs

• Is TCL a good TV brand? Yes. TCL is the world's second-largest TV brand by shipment volume and pioneered Mini LED technology — the display advancement every major competitor has since adopted. The brand delivers display performance that genuinely competes with premium brands at a significantly lower price point.
• What is the difference between TCL's Q Series and S Series? The Q Series uses more advanced display technologies — QLED, Mini LED, and QD-Mini LED — with higher brightness, better contrast, and more gaming features. The S Series covers everyday performance at more accessible price points, ideal for secondary TVs and budget-conscious buyers.
• Does TCL make a TV for gaming? Yes. The QM7K and QM8K feature HDMI 2.1 ports, up to 144Hz refresh rates, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), and a dedicated Game Bar — making them genuinely capable gaming TVs at a competitive price.

Find Your TCL TV at RC Willey

TCL has earned its position as one of the world's top TV brands the hard way — by making a better product, investing in the technology to back it up, and pricing it in a way that makes premium display performance accessible. Explore all the brands we carry at RC Willey and visit your nearest showroom to see TCL TVs in person.