TCL 5 Series/S546 2021 QLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the 65-inch TCL 5 Series (65S546), and we expect our settings to be valid for the 50-inch (50S546), 55-inch (55S546), and 75-inch (75S546) models. This TV uses TCL's implementation of Google TV, which is new in 2021, so there aren't many other TVs that use the same settings interface.

These settings should apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which require a few additional changes listed below.

Note: Our unit has bad out-of-the-box accuracy, giving it a warm color tone. We weren't able to fix the color temperature in calibration without introducing other inaccuracies, which explains the red tint in some photos.

One of the first things we did was disable all of the extra image processing features, as we don't want the TV to adjust the image during testing. We disabled the Energy Saver setting in the Power & Energy menu so that the TV didn't randomly shut off during testing.

For SDR content, we recommend choosing the 'Movie' Picture Mode, as it's the most accurate one out of the box and allows for the most customization. In the Brightness Settings page, we recommend leaving the Contrast to '100', Black Level to '50', Gamma to '2.2', and we disabled Dynamic Contrast, Black Stretch, and Dynamic Brightness, but you can adjust these to your preference. The Local Contrast setting adjusts the local dimming feature, and we recommend 'High'.

In the Color tab, we left everything at their default with the Color Temperature set to 'Warm -5'. In the Clarity tab, we left Sharpness to '0' and disabled the Digital Noise Reduction, Noise Reduction, and Gradation Clear settings, but once again, you should adjust these to your preference.

The TCL 5 Series has a full-array local dimming feature. The setting for this is called Local Contrast, which you can find in the Brightness tab. We recommend setting to 'High'.

HDR is automatically enabled for the native apps. When you start playing HDR content, the picture settings menu changes to specify the HDR format. Once you start playing HDR content, some of the settings change automatically. We recommend choosing the 'Movie' HDR Picture Mode and leaving the other settings to their defaults in HDR. Unlike the TCL 6 Series/R646 2021 QLED, you don't need to enable any full bandwidth signal for it to work.

The TCL 5 Series supports Dolby Vision from native apps and with most external devices. As with normal HDR content, when you start playing Dolby Vision content, some settings change automatically. We recommend leaving these settings as-is, do not copy our SDR settings over.

Although we disable most motion enhancing functions for most of our tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best for you.

The TCL 5 Series has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion. It only flickers at 60Hz, and to enable it, enable the Motion Clarity setting so that you can enable the LED Clear Motion.

The TCL 5 Series can interpolate lower-frame rate content up to 60 fps. Adjust the Judder Reduction setting to its max for it to work.

The TCL 5 Series can remove 24p judder from 24p sources like Blu-ray players and native apps when you enable Nature Cinema. However, it can't remove it from 60p/i sources, even with Judder Reduction set to its max.

From the base SDR and HDR settings, simply enable the Auto Low Latency Mode setting from the Inputs menu. This allows the TV to automatically switch into Game Mode when you launch a game from a compatible device. You can also set the Picture Mode to 'Game' for low input lag. 

The TCL 5 Series supports variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing when gaming. To use VRR, enable Variable Refresh Rate.

If you want the TCL 5 Series to display chroma 4:4:4 when using it as a PC monitor, set the Picture Mode to 'PC' or 'Game', but text looks sharper in PC Mode.

The TCL 5 Series can pass uncompressed Dolby Atmos via TrueHD audio to a compatible receiver through a single HDMI connection. For eARC to work with Dolby Atmos formats, enable the eARC Mode for the input you're using and set Digital Audio Out to 'Auto'. There's a Dolby Atmos setting, but that's only for the built-in speakers.