Almost every year television manufacturers debut some form of new technology for their TVs. A couple of years ago it was all about the features HDMI 2.1 ports could unlock, and before that, it was the various iterations of O/Q/mini-LED displays. The latest advancement in this new trend cycle is 4K TVs with 144Hz refresh rates.
Earlier this year during CES 2022, TCL announced that it would be releasing a new range of Google-powered 4K TVs with 144Hz refresh rates. The C835 mini LED TVs have finally made it to Australian shores, so if you’re someone who loves an incredibly smooth experience while gaming, this new generation of TVs could be the answer.
Why are refresh rates important?
In a nutshell, your refresh rates determine how many times your TV will refresh its image within a second. For example, a 60Hz TV will refresh 60 times per second, while a 144Hz display will refresh 144 times per second.
Higher refresh rates will help to keep your TV’s visuals smooth and prevent screen tearing. If you’re someone who plays a lot of fast-paced shooters, you’ll know how important split-second moments can be, so high refresh rates will help ensure your best-laid plans aren’t waylaid by stuttering or skipped frames.
It should be noted that both the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 can only currently support 120Hz at a 4K resolution – and even then not all PS5 and Xbox games can support those refresh rates. If you’re more of a PC gamer, you can plug your rig into one of the TV’s HDMI 2.1 ports, but you’ll need to make sure your PC’s graphics card can handle 4K resolutions in the first place.
With that said, these TCL TVs are some of the first of their kind (Samsung also announced 144Hz 4K TVs during CES), so the technology is clearly heading in that direction. Consoles may be capped at 120Hz now, but that could change.
What else do these TCL TVs have going on?
The C835’s refresh rates are pretty impressive by themselves, but what about the rest of the TV? The Google-powered C835 uses TCL’s Quantum Dot mini LED display, which gives it an improved brightness (1,000 nits), a higher contrast ratio and a higher colour gamut, along with an increased number of local dimming zones for deeper blacks. It can also support HDR 10+ to really boost those display features.
It looks like the 144Hz rates for these new TCL TVs are only achievable through Variable Refresh Rate support, which is a feature that will automatically adjust your TV’s refresh rates so it matches your console’s output. The C835 comes with four HDMI 2.1 ports – which are needed to use VRR – which should be more than enough for you to plug in everything you need. It also has an Auto Low Latency Mode, which does exactly what it sounds like.
The TCL C835 is available with 55-, 65- and 75-inch screens and can currently be purchased from select Australian retailers, such as The Good Guys: 55-inch ($1,995) | 65-inch ($2,995) | 75-inch ($3,995)
You can check out TCL’s product listing for the C835 Mini LED TV here.
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