TCL’s 98-Inch QM8L Undercuts OLED, Runs PS5 at 120fps for $4,999

Sophie Bennett10/09/20265 min read

If you’re chasing a screen big enough to make your PS5 library feel like a cinema and you’ve got roughly $5,000 to spend, TCL’s QM8L Series is the one worth pointing your cursor at before an OLED. The 98-inch model runs a native 144Hz panel, four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, and up to 4,000 local dimming zones, and it’s confirmed working with PS5 at 120fps in independent testing, according to reviews from ecoustics and TechRadar.

That’s not TCL marketing copy. Both outlets tested the set themselves, and TCL’s own US storefront backs up the specs and the current asking price.

People weighing this exact choice, huge Mini-LED versus a smaller OLED, have been arguing about it for years, and this generation’s price gap has reopened the debate:

Four HDMI 2.1 Ports and a PS5 Running at 120fps

The QM8L series is a great TV for gaming, with 4K/144Hz support across four HDMI 2.1 ports, ultra-low input lag in Game mode, and soon-to-come Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming support. TechRadar’s testers went further and actually hooked up a console. They used a PlayStation 5 and had no problem running compatible games at 120fps, with all of them looking crisp thanks to the 4K resolution and good HDR contrast.

The onscreen Game Bar adds an FPS counter, an aim-assist overlay, an Overdrive motion setting, and TCL’s Game Accelerator 288 mode, which drops to 1080p to double the perceived refresh rate. If you’re the type who still bumps a shooter down to 1080p for the extra frames, that option is baked in rather than buried in a firmware update.

4,000 Dimming Zones Chasing OLED-Level Contrast

For the new QM8L, TCL has added a 26-bit backlight controller and up to 4,000 local dimming zones on the 98-inch model, an increase over the previous QM8K. That’s the number that actually matters for dark scenes. More zones means less halo around bright objects on a black background, which is the exact flaw Mini-LED has always been mocked for next to OLED.

It’s still a step below TCL’s own flagship. The X11L series goes further on the local dimming front, offering up to 20,000 dimming zones on its 98-inch model, with prices starting at $7,000 for the 75-inch version. The QM8L is the deliberately cheaper option, and it’s priced like one.

$4,999 List Price, and OLED at This Size Barely Exists

TCL’s own US store lists the 98-inch QM8L at a regular price of $4,999.99, discounted from $5,999.99. Best Buy has carried the same model at $4,849.99, down from $5,999.99, and Amazon has dropped it as low as $3,997.99 in a 33% sale, according to a PC Guide deals report. Three retailers, one TV, and none of them near five figures.

Compare that with the OLED side of the ledger at the same screen size. 98-inch OLED TV options are scarce, and the models that do exist demand a considerably larger investment than a comparable TCL Mini-LED set. That gap is the entire argument. A 65-inch OLED wins on contrast in a dim room, no question, but it isn’t a 98-inch screen, and it never will be for anywhere near this money.

We’ve been saying for a while that the “OLED or nothing” crowd tends to ignore screen size as a variable entirely. At 98 inches, the conversation stops being about black levels and starts being about whether you can even buy the thing you’re comparing it to.

Where It Actually Trails: Color Accuracy and Off-Angle Seats

The QM8L isn’t a clean sweep. TCL’s purported 100% BT.2020 rating is overblown, with the best measured result at 90%, though DCI-P3 color coverage came in incredibly strong for a Mini-LED TV at 98%. Color accuracy out of the box is the bigger issue. In Filmmaker Mode the panel scored a Delta E of 3.7, a little disappointing for a premium TV, and in Standard mode that jumped to 9.9, a shockingly high figure for the price bracket.

None of that is a dealbreaker for a couch fifteen feet back running a PS5 through HDR-calibrated game modes, but it does mean you shouldn’t leave the picture on the factory Standard preset. Switch to Filmmaker or Movie mode and most of that gap closes. Viewing angles remain limited despite the WHVA 2.0 panel, with contrast and image quality decreasing from wider positions, so a dedicated seating line matters more here than it would with OLED’s wider viewing cone.

Why This Beats a Projector for a Living Room, Not a Dedicated Theater

A decent 4K laser projector can throw a 100-inch image for a few hundred dollars less up front, and that’s the pitch every projector fan makes. It’s a fair one in a purpose-built, light-controlled room. It falls apart the second there’s a window nearby, because ambient light washes out projector contrast in a way a 6,000-nit backlight simply doesn’t have to deal with.

Our view here is simple: for anyone gaming in a normal living room with daytime light coming through, the QM8L’s brightness and native 144Hz panel do more for actual picture quality than a projector’s larger image ever will. You’re trading theoretical size for a screen that still looks correct with the curtains open.

The 98-inch QM8L is available now through TCL’s own storefront and major US retailers, with the 65-, 75- and 85-inch versions covering smaller rooms at proportionally lower prices.