If you’re a stickler for preserving the creator’s intent when watching movies and shows at home, this news is for you: TCL has finally added the popular FIlmmaker picture mode to its latest TV lineup.
Previously, TCL had been one of the last remaining holdouts to incorporate Filmmaker mode among the biggest TV brands in the industry. For several years, Filmmaker mode has been a common feature among the best TVs on the market. Now, TCL is finally in the fold.
As a TV expert, I not only use it everyday when evaluating TVs in my day-to-day duties at Tom’s Guide, I also use it when watching flicks at home. In fact, I love Filmmaker mode so much that I recommend it to folks whenever I get the chance.
What is Filmmaker mode?
Making its debut in 2019, Filmmaker mode is the brainchild of the UHD Alliance — a group of TV manufacturers and Hollywood studios — along with some of the biggest names in filmmaking, including Patty Jenkins and Christopher Nolan.
The goal was (and still is) to bring the cinema experience into the living room by offering a TV picture mode that adheres as close as possible to the reference standards used by Hollywood in the production of shows and movies.
In other words, Filmmaker mode ensures that your TV is delivering a picture that falls in line with the creators’ intent as much as possible.
It achieves this by fixing the TV’s white point to the industry standard, disabling motion smoothing and reining in the TV’s color saturation.
As a TV-reviewer and a film buff, I've been an avid user of Filmmaker mode since its inception.
As a TV-reviewer and a film buff, I've been an avid user of Filmmaker mode since its inception.
Comparable picture modes — like Movie, Cinema, and Theater — often adhere quite close to Hollywood reference standards, but brands frequently enable various picture processing enhancements (like motion smoothing) for these modes, too. Filmmaker mode is stricter in its approach.
Compared to over-processed, over-sharpened and oversaturated picture modes like Vivid (a picture mode you should avoid at all costs), Filmmaker mode is a breath of fresh air.
In action, Filmmaker mode’s impressiveness ultimately comes down to the overall performance of your TV. That said, regardless of the price and performance of your set, there’s a good chance that Filmmaker mode will be the most accurate picture mode available to you.
In fact, because it's so accurate, Tom's Guide runs several picture-related tests in Filmmaker mode for every TV review we publish. This ensures that we’re reaching a valuable conclusion about a TV’s ability to produce an accurate picture.
Which TCL TVs have Filmmaker mode?
At the time of publishing, Filmmaker mode is a confirmed feature across all of the models in TCL’s 2025 main TV lineup.
This includes the recently announced TCL QM8K, the brand’s flagship Mini-LED TV this year (and a follow-up to the superb TCL QM8). The QM8K also arrives with a special Bang & Olufsen sound system and a new “Precise Dimming” feature for better backlight control, so Filmmaker mode should add to an already-cinematic experience.
It can also be found on the fantastic QM7K, a mid-range TV that just got way more affordable thanks to a recent discount. In our TCL QM7K review, Matthew Murray made note of how impressive “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” look on the QM7K in Filmmaker mode.
Filmmaker mode can also be found on the brand’s entry-level Mini-LED for 2025, the TCL QM6K.
Given its performance profile, this set benefits greatly from Filmmaker mode’s careful guidance. It doesn’t offer the high-level brightness you’ll find on the QM7K and the QM8K, but you’re getting a lengthy list of features for the price, including Dolby Vision and a handful of gaming enhancements.
Is Filmmaker mode coming to older TCL TVs?
According to FlatpanelsHD, while TCL has not ruled out the addition of Filmmaker mode to models from 2024, there are currently no plans to add the picture mode to older models.
If Filmmaker mode made its way to TVs like the 2024 TCL QM7 and last-year's TCL QM78, the feature would arrive in the form of a firmware update.
For now, however, picture purists and all-around A/V enthusiasts will have to stick with the brand's latest offerings, should they want a taste of Filmmaker mode on a TCL-branded TV.
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