TCL calls the X11L an SQD-Mini LED, which sounds like a rebranding of a conventional QLED TV that uses a single-color (white or blue) mini-LED backlight system with a quantum dot layer on the LCD panel for improved color performance. The LEDs used on the X11L are very bright and focused, and TCL claims they can reach a maximum brightness of 10,000 nits. Even more boldly, TCL says the X11L can cover the full BT.2020 color space, a claim previously made only of RGB-LED TVs with individual red, green, and blue LEDs in their backlight arrays, to expand the LCD panel’s color range. I’ve yet to actually see it in my testing on any TV.
(Credit: PCMag)
The X11L fell a bit short of those claims in testing, but it exceeded my expectations for a typical high-end mini-LED TV. I use a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software to test TVs, and the measurements I got from the X11L rank second only to those of the Hisense 116UX RGB-LED TV. It outperformed every mini-LED QLED TV I’ve tested so far. Still, no TV I’ve tested has ever fully supported BT.2020.
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The charts above show the X11L’s color performance in Movie mode with an SDR signal compared against the Rec.709 broadcast standard, and with an HDR10 signal compared against both the DCI-P3 digital cinema standard and the wider BT.2020 color space. During testing, the SDR colors were nearly perfect (a common occurrence in modern TVs) with slightly more vibrant reds. Likewise, the HDR colors went well beyond DCI-P3 and hit blues, cyans, magentas, and red BT.2020 values with ease, though greens and yellows didn’t quite match up. The whites were just a touch warm but showed impressive color on a TV that lacks RGB LEDs to boost the LCD’s range.
The X11L doesn’t come close to its claimed 10,000 nits of peak brightness, but it still looked good. In Movie mode with an HDR10 signal and backlight brightness set to 100, it displayed a maximum light output of 605 nits with a full-screen white field, 3,421 nits with an 18% white field, and 3,776 nits with a 10% white field. I use the 18% white field to compare all TVs for consistency, and the X11L only falls short of the Hisense 116UX’s 4,012 nits. It beats out the previous second-brightest TV I’ve tested, the TCL QM9K (3,330 nits 18% field), though both other TVs outshine the X11L with 10% fields, at 5,889 nits for the 116UX and 4,296 for the QM9K.
To be perfectly frank about these measurements, once a TV can hit 3,000 nits easily, any additional light output feels like it’s gilding the lily. Humans perceive changes in brightness on a curve, and the difference between 3,000 nits and 4,000 nits is much less apparent to our eyes than the difference between 600 nits and 1,000 nits. That none of these TVs come close to 10,000 nits isn’t a knock to any of them.
The greens of plants, blues of the sky, and green-blues of water in the “Island” episode of the BBC’s Planet Earth II looked vivid and natural on the X11L. The TV displays a wide array of varied hues, particularly across the green plants. I found branches and fur sharp and detailed, and both were properly bright under the sun and dark in the shade, with nothing being lost in the highlights or shadows.
The X11L’s contrast is even more impressive when it shows the party scenes from The Great Gatsby. In my tests, the black suits were incredibly dark, and white lights stood out brightly in the same frame with no noticeable bloom. The jackets’ cuts and contours remained visible and weren’t lost in muddiness, nor were brightly illuminated feathers and chandelier crystals swallowed by the highlights. Skin tones looked natural against the stark whites and blacks, while the orange costumes popped nicely.
Demonstration footage on the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD benchmark disc looked consistently excellent. Snowy scenes were bright, with individual cloud wisps and snowflakes distinct against a white ground and sky. The trees of dark forests in landscape shots taken at sunrise and sunset were just as detailed, with no muddiness at all.
I should note that, despite the X11L’s impressive color measurements, the video I watched didn’t seem any more vivid than on any premium QLED or OLED TV. Content mastered for the DCI-P3 digital cinema color space falls well within the X11L’s range and generally won’t push the panel’s wider limits. Many movies have been mastered in BT.2020 and are available in certain formats that support that color space, but for now, don’t count on that extra color coming through in most content you watch. And keep in mind the X11L (and, so far, all TVs I’ve tested) doesn’t cover the full BT.2020 color space when you watch content that supports it.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
Light bloom is admirably kept under control in torture test shots of bright, colorful objects against completely black backgrounds. I spotted a slight haze along the edges, but it faded immediately to complete black. It was difficult to notice when viewing the TV from head-on. It isn’t the completely bloom-free picture OLED panels offer, but it’s impressive light control for any LED-backlit TV.
Off-angle viewing is very good on the X11L, with color and contrast staying intact as you move away from the TV’s central sweet spot. In my tests, the picture looked consistently vivid when viewed at an angle. Moving further past that wide angle to watching the TV from the side desaturated the colors and slightly crunched the contrast. Still, the X11L produced a very watchable and detailed view.
