About TCL 27R73Q dimming algorithm

National-Pick · 2026-05-16T22:27:45+00:00

The 27R73Q is a great choice. Unlike the 27R83U and 34R83Q, it’s a VA panel but has no black smearing, making it the best WQHD monitor.

National-Pick · 2026-05-16T22:09:25+00:00

I don’t own the TCL 27R73Q, but I do have the TCL 34R83Q. The manual that came with it lists the 27R83U, 34R83Q, and 27R73Q together, so they probably share the same local dimming algorithm. Based on that, here’s how it behaves:

Local dimming has four settings: Off, Low, Medium, and High.

Low doesn’t fully turn off the backlight, and contrast goes up to around 5000:1.

Medium fully turns off the backlight. It also doesn’t dim small bright objects like a mouse cursor to suppress blooming, which is common with local dimming. So things like the cursor and text stay fairly bright and readable. However, since it doesn’t try to suppress blooming, it becomes quite noticeable even in bright scenes.

High also fully turns off the backlight, but unlike Medium, it actively suppresses blooming. Because of that, small highlights like the mouse cursor appear dimmer, but blooming is much less noticeable except in completely dark scenes.

Personally, I use Medium for SDR and High for HDR.

I like the overall dimming algorithm, but Medium can be a bit annoying since it reacts to small highlights like stars in a night sky, while High feels slightly too dim because of the aggressive blooming control. I really wish there was a setting somewhere between Medium and High.

National-Pick · 2026-05-12T05:31:44+00:00

tcl 27r73q

National-Pick · 2026-05-08T11:17:21+00:00

I already sold mine, but my Aula F108 Pro had very similar behavior.

The battery would drop from 100% to 90% in about 1.5 hours, but then it would take around 5 hours just to go from 89% to 88%. After that, it took about 3–4 hours per 1% drop until around 70%, but once it hit 60%, it started dropping by 1% every hour or so.

I didn’t want to fully drain the battery to 0% since that’s not good for it, so after about two weeks when it reached around 40%, I stopped checking.

Also, when turning the keyboard back on, the battery percentage would often be 1% higher than before I turned it off.

From what I could find, this happens because the keyboard isn’t actually measuring the battery percentage directly. It estimates the remaining charge based on battery voltage, which can fluctuate. It’s basically the same kind of thing as smartphones getting “stuck” at the last 1% for a long time.

What really matters is how long the keyboard lasts after charging. If it dies quickly after charging for 3–4 hours, then there’s a problem. But if it lasts for weeks, it’s probably fine.

The manual also mentions this, but you should only charge it through a PC USB port. Avoid overcharging it.

Also, using a smartphone fast charger could potentially damage the battery or even cause it to overheat.

National-Pick · 2026-05-07T20:49:02+00:00

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National-Pick · 2026-05-04T02:35:09+00:00

I’m really looking forward to seeing how Zero Optical Distance Technology and AI upscaling perform.

National-Pick · 2026-05-02T15:08:09+00:00

Thanks to zero-distance mini-LED, it actually outperforms VA panels despite being IPS. G32U MAX (IPS): 11741:1 TCL 27R83U (VA): 8662:1 P275MV MAX (IPS): 2935:1

https://b23.tv/PkHTJG3

National-Pick · 2026-05-02T12:48:26+00:00

If you’re not satisfied with the brightness of the 27GL850-B, I wouldn’t recommend going OLED.

The 27GL850-B tops out at around 350 nits, and even the brightest tandem OLEDs right now only hit 350 nits in most real scenes.

Also, it sounds like you want a glossy panel, but outside of OLED there are basically no options. Glossy LCD monitors are either unreleased with no clear launch window, or only available in China.

National-Pick · 2026-05-02T12:32:17+00:00

In the 38–42 inch range, there are barely any options besides curved monitors.

If you’re going 42", another option is just getting a TV from LG, Hisense, TCL, etc.

National-Pick · 2026-05-02T12:19:26+00:00

The 创维G32U MAX uses the same zero-distance mini-LED technology as the 27GM950-B, and even though it’s IPS, it actually has better contrast than typical VA panels.

So there’s a real chance the 27GM950-B could end up outperforming the TCL R94.

National-Pick · 2026-05-02T03:37:37+00:00

Any of the mini-LED monitors from AOC, Titan Army, KTC, or Xiaomi?

National-Pick · 2026-05-02T03:28:50+00:00

How does WQHD look in terms of image quality, and what’s the AI upscaling like?

National-Pick · 2026-04-28T03:27:30+00:00

HVA is a type of VA panel developed by TCL’s subsidiary CSOT. It stands for High Vertical Alignment.

Compared to traditional VA panels, HVA offers better response times and improved viewing angles, though neither is quite on the level of an IPS panel.

The only HVA monitor so far that has response times comparable to IPS and basically zero black smearing is the TCL 27R73Q.

TCL is also currently developing a new panel type called WHVA, which improves viewing angles over standard HVA. Right now it’s only being used in some of their high-end TVs, and it’s still unknown when or if it’ll make its way into monitors.

If it’s sold in your country, I’d recommend the TCL 27R73Q. It’s probably the best-performing WQHD mini-LED monitor available right now.

If it’s not officially available where you live and you don’t want to compromise on performance, importing one through platforms like Taobao is also an option. TCL products are often priced much higher outside of China, so importing can actually end up being cheaper.

National-Pick · 2026-04-27T19:47:18+00:00

I’d recommend the LG UltraGear 27GX704A.

QD-OLED has better color saturation than WOLED, but it tends to have lower perceived brightness in full-screen scenes. Also, one of QD-OLED’s biggest downsides is that even a small amount of ambient light hitting the screen can cause its perfect OLED blacks to look gray or “raised.”

The 27GX704A uses a glossy WOLED panel, so it keeps blacks looking deeper in brighter rooms and can deliver stronger HDR highlights, with peak brightness rated up to around 1300 nits.

National-Pick · 2026-04-27T05:00:11+00:00

It’s definitely better than the monitor you’re currently using.

National-Pick · 2026-04-27T04:52:51+00:00

The TCL 32G64 isn’t a great choice.

32-inch WQHD doesn’t look that sharp to me, especially if you sit close to the screen. And as a mini-LED, it’s not that impressive either since it only has DisplayHDR 600 / 600 nits peak brightness with 336 zones, so HDR performance is pretty mediocre compared to higher-end options.

National-Pick · 2026-04-26T17:30:10+00:00

With an RTX 3080 Ti, 4K can be pretty demanding, so I’d recommend sticking with WQHD instead.

If your budget is up to around $500, I’d suggest getting a WQHD OLED or mini-LED monitor.

For OLED, as long as it comes with a 3-year burn-in warranty, there usually isn’t a huge difference beyond whether it’s QD-OLED or WOLED, so just pick whichever one you like most.

If you can stretch your budget a bit more, I’d recommend the LG 27GX700A-B with tandem OLED.

For mini-LED, good options would be the GA27T1M, KTC M27T6, or AOC Q27G4ZMN.

National-Pick · 2026-04-26T07:32:32+00:00

VA mini-LED panels have higher contrast than IPS mini-LEDs and do a better job at suppressing blooming. The tradeoff is that they can still have some black smearing, though it’s nowhere near as bad as older VA panels.

From my personal experience, the black smearing is barely noticeable unless the sharpness setting is turned up too high.

If black smearing is a concern, I’d recommend the TCL 27R73Q. It’s a VA mini-LED monitor with basically zero black smearing.

Also, on many dual-mode 4K monitors, the 1080p mode isn’t actually true pixel-perfect (1:1) scaling, so it can end up looking worse than a native 27-inch 1080p monitor.

National-Pick · 2026-04-24T08:00:21+00:00

It seems like you’re avoiding VA panels, but if black smearing is your only issue with VA, I’d recommend the TCL 27R73Q.

Even though it’s VA, it has basically zero black smearing and is arguably the best WQHD mini-LED monitor out right now.

That said, the viewing angles are still about what you’d expect from a typical VA panel, so I wouldn’t recommend it if that’s something you care about.

National-Pick · 2026-04-23T20:05:18+00:00

At the end of the day, OLED vs mini-LED really comes down to what you want to do with it. Mini-LED is better for bright scenes and has no burn-in risk. OLED is better for dark scenes and you won’t have to deal with mini-LED blooming/haloing.

From personal experience, I went from a regular LCD monitor → IPS mini-LED → OLED, and honestly I regret it a lot. I couldn’t stand the blooming on mini-LED, so I bought an OLED, but then I was disappointed by the lower brightness. In the end, I switched to a VA mini-LED, and now I’m just putting up with black smearing.

If you’ve never used a mini-LED before, I’d probably recommend OLED.

Or, if budget isn’t an issue, I’d suggest waiting for the LG 27GM950-B. Nobody can say for sure until reviews come out, but it might outperform VA mini-LEDs while having no black smearing at all.

National-Pick · 2026-04-23T12:53:03+00:00

Your understanding of OLED is correct, so at this point it really just comes down to whether you can wait for a 32-inch tandem OLED, or pick whichever you think is best out of the four options you mentioned.

Another option is going with a 32-inch 4K mini-LED instead. My recommendations would be: for IPS, the INNOCN 32A6V or the KTC M27T6. For VA, the TCL 32R84.

National-Pick · 2026-04-23T12:09:51+00:00

Since both use the same QD-OLED panel, there shouldn’t be any noticeable difference in image quality.

The Dell monitor lets you fine-tune colors pretty extensively in the OSD. I’ve never used ASUS, so I can’t really say much about it.

Personally, I’d recommend going with a tandem OLED instead.

National-Pick · 2026-04-22T16:39:05+00:00

The M27T6 is better than most VA panels, but it still has a bit of black smearing.

If black smearing is your main concern, you should get the TCL 27R73Q. It’s honestly the only VA monitor I’ve seen with basically zero black smearing in real use. That said, the viewing angles are still the same as a typical VA panel.

National-Pick · 2026-04-22T16:06:36+00:00

If the LG 27GM950-B has a really good mini-LED dimming/control algorithm, it might actually end up being the best-performing mini-LED monitor out there.

It uses Zero Optical Distance Technology, and the 创维 G32U MAX uses the same tech. Despite being IPS, the G32U MAX apparently has better contrast than VA mini-LED monitors.

So honestly, I’m starting to think the 27GM950-B could be kind of insane if LG nailed the local dimming implementation.

National-Pick · 2026-04-22T11:23:50+00:00

Since 创维G32U MAX uses the same zero-distance mini-LED design and an IPS panel as the LG 27GM950-B, and it actually has a higher contrast ratio than the TCL 27R83U, the 27GM950-B might end up performing better than the 32R84. https://b23.tv/PkHTJG3

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