TCL's new 8K TV brings the IMAX experience home — and we want one now

By Kate Kozuch
published

The TCL X915 is an IMAX Enhanced-certified 8K TV with a built-in soundbar and pop-out camera.

TCL's new 8K TV brings the IMAX experience home — and we want one now
(Image credit: TCL)

TCL's new 8K QLED TV delivers an IMAX Enhanced-certified movie theater to your living room so you never have to leave the house to catch a blockbuster again.

Called the TCL X915, this 8K TV comes in 75- and 65-inch variants, offers Quantum Dot display technology and supports Dolby Vision HDR/HDR 10+. The X915 also boasts Local Dimming Technology, which often provides excellent contrast. As for sound, TCL says the X915 packs a built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar made from Onkyo hardware.

The X915's IMAX Enhanced certification means viewers can benefit from the same 1.90:1 picture aspect ratio they'd experience while enjoying IMAX movies at an actual theater. While the screen at home might not be as large, you'll get to watch 8K upscaled and IMAX remastered films up close.

Not many popular manufactures have prioritized IMAX Enhanced technology yet since it started rolling out last year, but we're excited to see TCL betting on it for one of its 2020 TVs. 

TCL is also taking a bet on a feature that hasn't fared well for smartphones: a pop-up camera. If you get interrupted by a video chat as you've just settled onto the couch, a webcam will materialize. Far-field microphones will let you answer the call, even if your remote is buried deep between the cushions.

The microphones can also be used to navigate the Android TV interface, which leverages Google Assistant and the best Google Assistant commands to search for content, as well as integrate your TV into your smart home system. 

Some of the features announced for the TCL 2020 TVs show up on the X915. One of them is HDMI 2.1 support, which allows such features as enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) with uncompressed audio formats and gaming with variable refresh rates that match the TV's refresh rate to the game console's output frame-by-frame to eliminate tearing and judder.

TCL X915 price and availability

8K TVs might not be mainstream yet, but with manufactures like TV throwing their efforts behind ultra-realistic picture formats, we could be interested in owning them sooner than we think.

If the TCL X915 has you sold, you might be waiting to buy it depending on where you live. It's already available to purchase in Australia and is rolling out across Asia and Europe now. 

Pricing for the U.S. has not been announced yet, but based on conversions on the prices coming out of India the 75-inch model costs $4,000. Samsung's Q900 8K in 75 inches is about the same price, for comparison.

Kate Kozuch
Kate Kozuch

Kate Kozuch is an editor at Tom’s Guide covering smartwatches, TVs and everything smart-home related. Kate also appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her on an exercise bike, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef. 


1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • gmk2311
    I was kind of excited in early 2020 to get hands on an affordable 8k TV with 2.1. Neither seemed to materialize in any quantity.
    TCL was my expected provider due to their history of undercutting the top tier guys with a lower price and a minimal decrease in picture quality.
    Here we are a year later, still waiting.
    But it seems like when the product IS delivered, it will be priced about the same as top tier sets, although based on reviews from across the pond, that expected decrease in picture quality is still there. So, I am forecasting some deep discounting from the expected MSRP to move these units.
    The next question will be, if the TCL 1st gen 8k picture quality will be acceptable enough to even merit the purchase at a discount. Time will tell.
    Reply