TCL Q5/Q550F QLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the 50-inch TCL Q5/Q550F (50Q550F), but they're also valid for the 43-inch (43Q550F-CA), 55-inch (55Q550F), 65-inch (65Q550F), 75-inch (75Q550F) and 85-inch (85Q550F) models. These settings apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which requires a few additional changes, listed below.

These settings are meant to provide a starting point; they're not meant to be copied 1:1. They provide the most accurate image in a moderately lit room, but you should adjust them to match your preferences and viewing conditions.

For SDR content, you can choose a few different preset picture modes. We used the 'Movie' Picture Mode because it's the most accurate out of the box and allows for the most customization. We left Backlight at '47' as it's closest to 200 nits on our unit, which is our target for a moderately lit room. Below are the settings we used for SDR. All other settings were either disabled or left off.

• Movie: (Calibrated)
• Brightness: 0
• Backlight: 47
• Contrast: 50
• Color: 0
• Mid Luminance Gamma: 0

HDR is automatically enabled for native apps. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears in the picture settings menu. Once you start playing HDR content, some of the settings change automatically. Below are the settings we used for HDR10. All other settings were either disabled or left off. 

• HDR Picture Mode: Movie
• Backlight: 100
• Brightness: 0
• Contrast: 50
• Color: 0
• HDR Enhancer: Off

The TV supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ from native apps and external devices. As with normal HDR content, when you start playing Dolby Vision or HDR10+ content, some settings change automatically. Since we don't specifically test Dolby Vision or HDR10+, we don't have exact settings for them, but they should be the same as our HDR10 settings.

The following are the results of calibrating the white balance of our unit to 6500K in HDR. They are provided for reference and shouldn't be copied as the calibration values vary per individual unit, even for the same model and size as the TV we reviewed, due to manufacturing tolerances. If you want to try them, you'll need to enter all values shown, as all of them are active at the same time. If you end up with worse picture quality, simply reset them to the default values.

From the base SDR and HDR settings, very few changes are required for the best gaming experience. When you start gaming, it is best to switch to the 'Game' Picture Mode to get the lowest input lag. The rest of our gaming settings are identical to our regular settings for SDR or HDR. For chroma 4:4:4, you must have the TV set to the 'Game' Picture Mode.

To make ARC work, Audio Output must be set to 'Auto' or 'ARC,' and Digital Audio Out should be set to 'Passthrough.' These settings are in the Display & Sound section.

For our 480p upscaling test, we set Sharpness to '5,' with Super Resolution set to 'On.' Sharpness processing was calibrated with no over-sharpening for low-resolution content.

This TV has about 7.8GB of accessible internal storage with the included apps installed. These settings are valid for the unit we bought and tested, and it was calibrated on Fire OS 8.1.1.3 (RS8113/2344).

For information on any other settings or features that fall outside of the scope of our testing, please refer to the quick start guide.