**A Review of the TCL 98-inch 8K TV: A Niche Product for the Masses**

When it comes to home theater setups, few products are as impressive as the TCL 98-inch 8K TV. With its massive screen size and impressive features, this TV is sure to turn heads in any room. In this review, we'll take a closer look at what makes this TV tick, from its sound quality to its picture capabilities.

**Sound Quality: A Step Down from Expectations**

The TCL 98-inch 8K TV comes equipped with 30 watts of speakers and they're not bad by any means. They may not be the most impressive sound system in the world, but they do get the job done. The TV's speaker setup is also notable for being Laing in base, which suggests a decent level of quality. However, if you're looking to splurge on a top-of-the-line home theater system, there are better options out there.

**Budget-Friendly Options: A Better Alternative?**

One potential solution to the limitations of this TV's sound is to pair it with an external soundbar like the Sonos Beam 2. At £400 more than the current price of the TCL 98-inch 8K TV, that may be a stretch for many budgets. However, the Sonos Beam 2 is currently considered one of the best value soundbars on the market, offering impressive performance at an affordable price.

**The Remote: Plastic and Not Premium**

The remote control that comes with this TV is made of plastic and feels somewhat cheap by comparison to other premium remotes we've seen. While it does have some nice quick streaming app shortcuts, the overall feel of the remote is not as premium as we would expect from a TV of this price.

**Picture Quality: Not Perfect, But Good Enough**

The picture quality on this TV is where things start to get a bit more complicated. With a peak HDR brightness of 450 nits, it's clear that this TV has its limitations when it comes to image brightness. Measured in different windows and lighting conditions, the brightness drops to around 250-300 nits at full screen brightness, which can make for some washed-out images.

**HDR: A Disappointment**

One of the biggest disappointments with this TV is its lack of HDR support. The 450 nits peak brightness mentioned earlier is roughly half of what we'd expect from a good HDR display. This means that in true HDR content, colors may not be as vibrant and vivid as they could be. We also noticed that the picture quality suffers when viewed during the day with bright lighting - studio lights or open windows really make it stand out.

**Picture Settings: A Few Nice Features**

Despite some limitations, this TV does have a few nice features to help improve its image quality. The built-in AI tech for upscaling the picture and reducing noise is particularly welcome, as it helps to smooth out any digital artifacts that may be visible on lower-quality TVs. We also appreciate the inclusion of anti-reflective coating - while not making the TV completely mirror-like, it does significantly reduce glare and reflections.

**UI: Fast and Responsive**

One area where this TV really shines is in its user interface (UI). Running on Google TV with their AI PQ processor 3.0, everything feels incredibly fast and responsive. Whether navigating menus or streaming services, this TV handles even the most demanding tasks with ease. The UI also includes a range of pitch modes to choose from, including standard, movie mode, and IMAX.

**Additional Features: Ambient Lighting and Art**

One feature that might not be immediately obvious is the inclusion of ambient lighting and art options on this TV. With the built-in Google Photos app, you can turn your TV into a giant art gallery - simply upload some photos to the Google Photos service and start exploring. The ambient wallpaper art option also adds a touch of sophistication to any room.

**Conclusion: A Good TV for the Masses**

While the TCL 98-inch 8K TV is not without its flaws, it's still an impressive product that offers something unique in the world of home entertainment. While we wish it had brighter peak HDR brightness and possibly included a mini LED panel for improved picture quality, it remains a solid option for those looking to fill a large space with a big screen.

**Who Would Be Interested in a TV This Big?**

So who would be interested in buying a TV this size? While 98 inches may seem like an impossible size for most people's living rooms, there are some niche applications where it might make sense. For example, if you have a very large space that needs filling - perhaps a commercial office or event space - then a TV of this size could be the answer.

**Other Considerations:**

Finally, while we can't help but wonder about the practicality of owning such a massive TV, there are some potential downsides to consider. At £2,500 (based on current prices), this TV is not cheap - and that's before you even consider the additional cost of pairing it with an external sound system or other accessories.

In conclusion, while the TCL 98-inch 8K TV has its limitations, it remains a solid option for those looking to fill a large space with a big screen.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: encan you ever go too big well I'm going to find out because TTL sent out this review sample of their new 98 in TV it's the TCL 98p 745k to be exact and it's by far the biggest TV I've ever had in the studio and I think the biggest one I've ever seen in person outside of a trade show and it goes without saying this is a Twan job to get the bloody thing out of the box 58 kg weight to side the assembly was nice and straightforward just screwing a couple of feet and Away you go the problem is the feet are fairly close to the edges so you may struggle to fit this on your TV stand and for me well it was almost a disaster I should probably have measured it first I mean just look at that clearance it's insane although I do still have a bit of an overhang at the front to be fair you can wall mount it and the power cable is detachable which always makes things easier just make sure your wall and your mounting bracket are going to be strong enough power on batteries in and after a few minutes of setting up your Google TV account this is I don't know how to describe it absolutely ridiculous and for context behind this mounted to the wall I have a 65 in LG G3 and actually at 98 in you're getting over double the surface area so who in their right mind would buy something like this well I'll tell you who my cousin John well technically my wife's cousin John because he calls me up every now and then he lives in the US and as those people do they tend to have bigger houses than we do here in the UK and he's like Tom what's the biggest TV I can buy that you know still has decent pitch quality but isn't an absolute Fortune well here it is John or for anyone else who just wants a massive TV and for the size I reckon it's pretty good value as well 4K with HDR 10 plus and Doby Vision IQ we get a 144 HZ refresh rate four HDMI 2.1 the super quick Google TV UI decent speakers courtesy of Ono AirPlay 2 chomecast game modes and did I mention it's 98 in now how much do you reckon this should be a TV of that spec and for the size bearing in mind it's not mini LED or qled or OLED it's a regular direct LED backlight but still a lot of features and obviously a massive size well right now on Amazon UK you can pick this up for £1,800 the RP when it launched late last year was I think three grand but then it quickly got discounted to 2,000 around black Friday 7 Monday but now you can get deals on this around 1,800 quid which is absolutely nuts for a 98 in TV although bear in mind this is just using a direct LED backlight which means it's not as impressive in terms of brightness and contrast now do I think Mrs Tech chap would let me have this thing in our Lounge probably not but if you do live in a big American house and you sit I don't know 20 30 ft from your TV or just want an absolutely epic screen to watch TV and play games for under two grand you're going to have a really good time and while there is a smaller cheaper 85 in option this 98 is a higher end model to be fair though you can go bigger than this but then you're in the realm of laser TVs which have their own problems and of course projectors now I actually tested the awall vision I think it was the LTV 3500 Pro projector a few months back and I absolutely love that up to 150 in and with a floor Rising ALR screen it was a proper home theater the only trouble is all in you're talking 7 or eight grand and bear in mind not all TV offer HDR 10 plus and Doby Vision formats LG and Samsung only give you one or the other and with four HDMI 2.1 ports you've got plenty of room for your PS5 your Xbox your satellite box and I would suggest a soundbar via the eag the speakers are okay it's a encho power 2.1 setup with a couple of 30 wat speakers and they're not bad serviceable bit tiny though definitely Laing in base and I think if you are going to go for an impressive home theater setup like this if you could stretch your budget by say another £400 get yourself a sunos beam 2 I think right now that's like the best bang for buck in terms of a soundbar although it would look hilariously small next to a TV this big and as for the remote well it does the job you got some nice quick streaming app shortcuts there doesn't feel the most premium it's plastic it's a remote now as you would expect for a TV this big for that price there are some compromises the main one as I say being the lack of any kind of mini LED or qled panel and the biggest issue with that is brightness because I measured a peak HDR brightness of 450 nits which was roughly the same on both a tiny 4% window and at fulls screen brightness for regular SDR tops out about 250 and putting it in movie mode can knock 70 to 100 nits off that so in the daytime like we have here I've got some studio lighting and a bunch of windows open I mean it looks fine but that kind of brightness means you're not going to get the most vibrant picture in the world and it certainly does make HDR just look a bit well non-existent nothing really pops off the screen and it can look a little bit washed out not bad just there are much better TVs out there in terms of picture quality but it's not a deal breaker and overall picture quality for the size for the price is good enough and TCL has their built-in AI tech for upscaling the picture and reducing noise and they claim 95% of the P3 gamut so colors can be pretty accurate although what I do really like is this uh anti-reflective coating it's less of a complete mirror like I have seen on some TVs and does a good job of sort of diffusing all the lights around me but it does also then combin with that fairly low brightness just give everything a bit of a sort of muddier washed out look um but I'd still rather have the anti-reflective than not having it and as I'm flicking through here another thing I really do like is the UI it's running Google TV and with their I think it's called AI PQ processor 3.0 it's a quad core chip everything just feels incredibly fast faster than my LG G3 just scrolling through menus and opening up settings all the usual streaming apps that You' need and there are plenty of pitch modes to choose from standard is the brightest but most of the time I've been watching in movie or IMAX modes and it will automatically switch to HDR 10 or W Vision if it detects HDR content it does also have a built-in ambient light sensor so it can adjust the screen's brightness based on your surroundings but I turned that off pretty quickly so I'd get the maximum brightness I could all the time and while a 98 in TV does leave a bit of a black hole in your room when it's turned off I do like the ambient wallpaper art and Google photos so you can use it as a giant art and photo gallery but beyond TV and movies you can of course hook up your console I've got my trusty PS5 here and with the TV's Alm it'll put you in game mode turn off all the background processing and at 98 in oh boy does this give a new meaning to immersive we do also get freeing premium Pro for smoothing out your frame rate and reducing screen tearing although no gsync and while response time and input lag isn't as fast as a top and OLED it's not been a problem and everything felt responsive so to wrap up all I have to say is the scale the epicness of having a 98 in TV in front of you watching this video on YouTube does not do it justice I wish it was brighter it would have been really nice if they could have squeezed in a mini LED panel uh without getting too much more expensive but it's still a good TV and at this size it just offers something a bit different it's a definitely a niche product I can't imagine that many people are going to be buying 98 in TVs particularly here in the UK but if you've got a big space to fill for a couple of grand it's not a bad shout but what do you reckon would you ever be tempted to buy something this big how big do you think you could get away with at home let me know in the comments below if you do fany checking this out I will leave a link in the description below and if you enjoyed the video a like And subscribe would be fantastic thank you so much for watching guys I'll see you next time right here on the tech chatcan you ever go too big well I'm going to find out because TTL sent out this review sample of their new 98 in TV it's the TCL 98p 745k to be exact and it's by far the biggest TV I've ever had in the studio and I think the biggest one I've ever seen in person outside of a trade show and it goes without saying this is a Twan job to get the bloody thing out of the box 58 kg weight to side the assembly was nice and straightforward just screwing a couple of feet and Away you go the problem is the feet are fairly close to the edges so you may struggle to fit this on your TV stand and for me well it was almost a disaster I should probably have measured it first I mean just look at that clearance it's insane although I do still have a bit of an overhang at the front to be fair you can wall mount it and the power cable is detachable which always makes things easier just make sure your wall and your mounting bracket are going to be strong enough power on batteries in and after a few minutes of setting up your Google TV account this is I don't know how to describe it absolutely ridiculous and for context behind this mounted to the wall I have a 65 in LG G3 and actually at 98 in you're getting over double the surface area so who in their right mind would buy something like this well I'll tell you who my cousin John well technically my wife's cousin John because he calls me up every now and then he lives in the US and as those people do they tend to have bigger houses than we do here in the UK and he's like Tom what's the biggest TV I can buy that you know still has decent pitch quality but isn't an absolute Fortune well here it is John or for anyone else who just wants a massive TV and for the size I reckon it's pretty good value as well 4K with HDR 10 plus and Doby Vision IQ we get a 144 HZ refresh rate four HDMI 2.1 the super quick Google TV UI decent speakers courtesy of Ono AirPlay 2 chomecast game modes and did I mention it's 98 in now how much do you reckon this should be a TV of that spec and for the size bearing in mind it's not mini LED or qled or OLED it's a regular direct LED backlight but still a lot of features and obviously a massive size well right now on Amazon UK you can pick this up for £1,800 the RP when it launched late last year was I think three grand but then it quickly got discounted to 2,000 around black Friday 7 Monday but now you can get deals on this around 1,800 quid which is absolutely nuts for a 98 in TV although bear in mind this is just using a direct LED backlight which means it's not as impressive in terms of brightness and contrast now do I think Mrs Tech chap would let me have this thing in our Lounge probably not but if you do live in a big American house and you sit I don't know 20 30 ft from your TV or just want an absolutely epic screen to watch TV and play games for under two grand you're going to have a really good time and while there is a smaller cheaper 85 in option this 98 is a higher end model to be fair though you can go bigger than this but then you're in the realm of laser TVs which have their own problems and of course projectors now I actually tested the awall vision I think it was the LTV 3500 Pro projector a few months back and I absolutely love that up to 150 in and with a floor Rising ALR screen it was a proper home theater the only trouble is all in you're talking 7 or eight grand and bear in mind not all TV offer HDR 10 plus and Doby Vision formats LG and Samsung only give you one or the other and with four HDMI 2.1 ports you've got plenty of room for your PS5 your Xbox your satellite box and I would suggest a soundbar via the eag the speakers are okay it's a encho power 2.1 setup with a couple of 30 wat speakers and they're not bad serviceable bit tiny though definitely Laing in base and I think if you are going to go for an impressive home theater setup like this if you could stretch your budget by say another £400 get yourself a sunos beam 2 I think right now that's like the best bang for buck in terms of a soundbar although it would look hilariously small next to a TV this big and as for the remote well it does the job you got some nice quick streaming app shortcuts there doesn't feel the most premium it's plastic it's a remote now as you would expect for a TV this big for that price there are some compromises the main one as I say being the lack of any kind of mini LED or qled panel and the biggest issue with that is brightness because I measured a peak HDR brightness of 450 nits which was roughly the same on both a tiny 4% window and at fulls screen brightness for regular SDR tops out about 250 and putting it in movie mode can knock 70 to 100 nits off that so in the daytime like we have here I've got some studio lighting and a bunch of windows open I mean it looks fine but that kind of brightness means you're not going to get the most vibrant picture in the world and it certainly does make HDR just look a bit well non-existent nothing really pops off the screen and it can look a little bit washed out not bad just there are much better TVs out there in terms of picture quality but it's not a deal breaker and overall picture quality for the size for the price is good enough and TCL has their built-in AI tech for upscaling the picture and reducing noise and they claim 95% of the P3 gamut so colors can be pretty accurate although what I do really like is this uh anti-reflective coating it's less of a complete mirror like I have seen on some TVs and does a good job of sort of diffusing all the lights around me but it does also then combin with that fairly low brightness just give everything a bit of a sort of muddier washed out look um but I'd still rather have the anti-reflective than not having it and as I'm flicking through here another thing I really do like is the UI it's running Google TV and with their I think it's called AI PQ processor 3.0 it's a quad core chip everything just feels incredibly fast faster than my LG G3 just scrolling through menus and opening up settings all the usual streaming apps that You' need and there are plenty of pitch modes to choose from standard is the brightest but most of the time I've been watching in movie or IMAX modes and it will automatically switch to HDR 10 or W Vision if it detects HDR content it does also have a built-in ambient light sensor so it can adjust the screen's brightness based on your surroundings but I turned that off pretty quickly so I'd get the maximum brightness I could all the time and while a 98 in TV does leave a bit of a black hole in your room when it's turned off I do like the ambient wallpaper art and Google photos so you can use it as a giant art and photo gallery but beyond TV and movies you can of course hook up your console I've got my trusty PS5 here and with the TV's Alm it'll put you in game mode turn off all the background processing and at 98 in oh boy does this give a new meaning to immersive we do also get freeing premium Pro for smoothing out your frame rate and reducing screen tearing although no gsync and while response time and input lag isn't as fast as a top and OLED it's not been a problem and everything felt responsive so to wrap up all I have to say is the scale the epicness of having a 98 in TV in front of you watching this video on YouTube does not do it justice I wish it was brighter it would have been really nice if they could have squeezed in a mini LED panel uh without getting too much more expensive but it's still a good TV and at this size it just offers something a bit different it's a definitely a niche product I can't imagine that many people are going to be buying 98 in TVs particularly here in the UK but if you've got a big space to fill for a couple of grand it's not a bad shout but what do you reckon would you ever be tempted to buy something this big how big do you think you could get away with at home let me know in the comments below if you do fany checking this out I will leave a link in the description below and if you enjoyed the video a like And subscribe would be fantastic thank you so much for watching guys I'll see you next time right here on the tech chat\n"