TCL C8K QD Mini LED Review: The Best TV for Sport and Gaming in Australia

Up to 5,000 nits of brightness means no more washed-out footy matches during the day.
Sport and gaming powerhouse, with 288Hz refresh, HDMI 2.1, and low input lag that make it ideal for PS5, F1, and NBA nights.
Value without compromise: Delivers OLED-level contrast and cinematic motion for under $2,000 — a true all-rounder for Aussie living rooms.

Australians don’t just want a TV that just looks good in a showroom. We want one that can handle Friday night AFL, Saturday NRL, a late-night EPL stream, and an NBA double-header before bed. And if you’ve got a PS5, that same screen has to keep up with 120 frames per second of chaos without tearing or lag. In short, the TVs of today have to do it all.

TCL’s new C8K QD Mini LED delivers elite sport and gaming performance in one screen. Image: DMARGE

Luckily, that’s where TCL’s new C8K QD Mini LED TV lands perfectly. It’s big, bright, and fast, the perfect upgrade if your weekends revolve around live sport and mid-week gaming sessions. Better yet, it’s priced to sting a lot less than the OLEDs it competes with.

Why Brightness Matters For Sport

Anyone who’s tried to watch footy in daylight knows the pain. AFL Grand Final played in the late arvo? Sunlight is across the lounge, and your TV picture looks washed out. You may as well go outside. The C8K fixes that problem.

TCL has cranked the brightness to an insane 4,500 nits with HDR highlights on this 75” and up to 5000 on some of the bigger sizes, which means you’ll actually see the grass look green at 2 p.m. instead of murky grey.

The picture look crisp even in full daylight, thanks to the C8K’s 5,000-nit brightness. Image: TCL

The extra brightness for NRL and NBA fans does wonders with fast camera pans. The ball stays sharp, the crowd doesn’t fade into mush, and motion smoothing keeps the action flowing. This TV makes live sports look like they were shot for cinema.

Built For F1 Nights And EPL Mornings

Where OLED has always shone is in the blacks, which matter for night races and early morning EPL kick-offs.

The C8K gets close enough that you’ll barely notice the difference unless you’re a hardcore home-theatre snob. Haloing around headlights in Formula 1 night races is minimal, and you still get the punch of perfect whites when cars light up the straights.

Everything looks sharper with TCL’s AiPQ Pro processor upscaling to near-4K detail. *Image: TCL*

EPL streams also benefit from TCL’s upscaling. Even if the broadcast isn’t in pristine 4K, the AiPQ Pro processor sharpens details and colours without overcooking them. Jerseys pop, stadium ads are legible, and you can actually see facial expressions from the sidelines.

Gaming: The Real Flex

Sport is one thing, but the C8K doubles as a beastly gaming panel. It packs HDMI 2.1 with 2K at 288Hz for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, plus AMD FreeSync Pro. Input lag is low enough to feel every trigger pull in Call of Duty and every gear change in F1 24.

With 288Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1, the C8K is built to keep up with PS5 and Xbox Series X. Image: DMARGE

TCL’s Game Master 3.0 makes customising settings for different consoles painless, and the new Game Bar overlay keeps frame rate and refresh data on screen. Pair that with HDR support across Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and it’s the kind of setup that makes you want to replay your entire library just to see how it looks.

Sound That Keeps Up But Goes Beyond

Sport is nothing without sound. Whether it’s the roar of the crowd at the MCG, an F1 engine on the straight in Monaco, or the squeak of sneakers at Madison Square Garden, the C8K’s Bang & Olufsen-tuned system handles it all with confidence.

A speaker configuration, including the up-firing speakers, that pumps enough Atmos effect to make footy replays feel bigger than your lounge room.

Bang & Olufsen-tuned audio adds stadium-level sound for live sport, movies, and gaming. Image: DMARGE

For serious NBA or EPL nights with mates, you’ll probably want to add a soundbar, but this is one of the rare TVs where the in-built system isn’t a disappointment.

Why It Beats OLED For Aussies

OLED is stunning in a blackout, but most Aussie homes aren’t built like that. Open-plan living, big windows, and weekend viewing mean brightness matters more than infinite contrast. That’s why the C8K is such a strong buy here. It punches hard in daylight, holds its own at night, and still comes in cheaper than big-name brands.

The Verdict

The TCL C8K feels like a TV built for Australians who live and breathe sport and don’t mind pulling all-nighters for international fixtures. AFL grand finals, NRL State of Origin, NBA playoffs, EPL classics, or Formula 1 Sundays. This panel makes every one of them look better. And when the sport’s over, it turns into a gaming monitor big enough to make your mates jealous.

It’s bright enough to fight daylight, smooth for live action, and fast enough for gaming. That’s a trifecta few brands can pull off right now. And at under $2,000 for the 65-inch model, it’s the rare TV that doesn’t require compromise. I hate to say it, but this sports-and-gaming beast is replacing my overpriced Korean picture frame TV.