TCL C7K vs Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED: which budget-friendly Mini LED TV should you buy?

Having thoroughly reviewed both models, you can rest assured that everything is covered in detail to help make your buying decision easier.

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(Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Netflix, Our Planet II)

The 65-inch TCL C7K launched at £1399 / $1500 / AU$2295. It’s much cheaper now, though, coming in at £849 / $1000 / AU$1495.

Today’s best 65-inch TCL C7K and Amazon Omni Mini-LED deals

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

The TCL C7K has a slick, premium aesthetic that belies its accessible price point.

The screen sits within a narrow brushed-metal trim that gives way to a slimmer black rear section, creating an attractive profile that’s particularly well-suited to wall mounting.

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If you’re not going down the wall-mounting route, the central metal desktop mounting plate attaches via a wide-neck arrangement with a detachable cover for cable management, keeping things tidy.

Build quality feels robust throughout, with none of the budget compromises you might expect at this price.

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

The TCL C7K runs on Google TV, providing comprehensive streaming app access.

TCL’s implementation includes all UK terrestrial broadcaster catch-up TV services – something standard Google TV systems typically omit.

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

The TCL C7K makes an immediate impact. With 1008 dimming zones and a claimed 2600 nits of peak brightness, it delivers an explosive HDR performance that punches well above its price bracket.

The brightness and contrast prove superb, with deep blacks maintaining their intensity against brilliant highlights.

The sheer punch and vibrancy can be breathtaking, particularly in the Standard preset, where colours look radiantly beautiful – combining vivid intensity with exceptional tonal subtlety.

Crucially, the C7K maintains this impressive contrast even in mixed-brightness scenes, delivering bright highlights against dark backdrops without distracting halos or significant dimming compromises.

Shadow detail reproduction proves excellent, too, actually surpassing some more expensive models in revealing information in dark areas without excessive brightness. The backlight system operates with remarkable consistency, avoiding noticeable brightness fluctuations during scene transitions.

The Filmmaker Mode delivers pictures that follow established HDR and SDR standards impressively closely, too, without looking drab or washed out – a common pitfall for LCD TVs with less accomplished native screen talents.

Colour accuracy across a huge spectrum looks impeccable, with every tone balanced beautifully against the rest.

The latest AIPQ Pro processor also upscales HD sources to 4K very handily, adding sharpness and density without exaggerating noise, while motion handling at 24fps suffers pleasingly little judder or resolution loss.

Minor niggles include a small yellowish patch that occasionally appears below the middle of the top black bar with wide aspect ratio films (we believe this is a flaw specific to our review sample), and, occasionally, too much detail is revealed in dark areas, showing faint traces of noise alongside correct shading information.

But these prove minor distractions in an otherwise outstanding performance.

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Netflix, Our Planet II)

The Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED takes a more conservative approach.

Its 768 dimming zones and quoted 1400 nits peak brightness deliver solid results, representing clear improvements over basic LCD sets, but we’re not talking about TCL C7K levels of dynamism.

Testing with Barbie reveals the TV’s strengths and limitations.

In Standard mode, the image looks overly pushed – too cartoony with contrast and colours amped beyond what’s natural, leading to lost detail.

Filmmaker Mode swings too far in the opposite direction, appearing flat and subdued with disabled manual controls.

The Movie Bright preset proves most successful, where careful adjustment (Local Dimming on High, Colour Temperature to Warm 2, Motion Handling reduced to one, Intelligent HDR enabled) unlocks more balanced results.

With Dune: Part 2, the Omni Mini-LED’s desertscapes hold decent detail, with each sand grain remaining distinct. The TV takes a commendably balanced approach to tuning, retaining dark detail in the spice mining vehicle that some competitors crush into blackness. This focus on not over-cooking contrast proves admirable at this price point.

However, peak brightness falls noticeably short of rivals.

Against the TCL C7K, reds in explosions don’t burn quite as intensely. Testing with Pan – a challenging 4000 nits mastered disc – reveals the limitation clearly, with the Fire TV Mini-LED showing a burning sunset as pure white, where competitors retain detail in red and orange hues.

The Blade Runner 2049 opening text shows noticeable blooming around white letters on black backgrounds, though the set soon recovers to deliver respectable performance for its price.

Black levels, while good for an LED TV in this bracket, can’t match the TCL’s depth. Skin tones occasionally appear washed out in very dark scenes, too, with reds looking underrepresented. The yellow of Georgie’s raincoat in It doesn’t separate from the grey background as convincingly as it should.

The Omni Mini-LED’s upscaling of the standard-definition True Grit proves solid, with the grainy, spaghetti western aesthetic preserved convincingly and the opening lantern scene looking authentic with no aberrations.

Despite delivering a competent performance with admirable backlight consistency – avoiding the rapid brightness shifts that plague many budget Mini LEDs – the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED simply can’t match the TCL’s explosive contrast, superior brightness, more accomplished colour reproduction, and greater overall refinement.

The TCL delivers a picture quality that feels at least a class above, making it exceptional value.

** Winner: TCL C7K **

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

The TCL C7K’s new Bang & Olufsen sound system represents a clear step forward from previous TCL audio efforts.

The speakers deliver extremely clean and prolific detailing with good film soundtrack mixes, hitting trebles that other TVs struggle to reach without sounding harsh or whiny.

The midrange presents plenty of room for soundtracks to ebb and flow, while vocals sound well-rounded and reasonably contextual.

However, the system leans heavily towards the higher frequency spectrum. Bass doesn’t reach as deep as trebles reach high, delivered with a touch too much politeness that results in a slightly treble-heavy presentation.

Background and ambient sound effects can also sometimes draw more attention than they should, while exceptionally dense soundtrack moments – such as the swelling score during the extreme eye close-up near the start of Blade Runner 2049 – sound slightly swallowed and condensed compared to more powerful systems.

Very deep and extended bass occasionally exhibits a little chuffing and buzzing interference.

Despite these limitations, the C7K’s sound proves good overall for a TV in its price range, with that Bang & Olufsen influence evident in the clean detailing and extended treble response.

In contrast, the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED’s standard 2.1 Dolby Atmos-ready speaker arrangement delivers by-the-numbers performance for its price bracket.

Testing with Blade Runner 2049’s bass-heavy synth soundtrack immediately reveals limitations, with distortion creeping in during the bassiest sections and a general lack of precision and heft.

The car chase in The Batman fares poorly, with roaring engines sounding more like muffled mopeds. The audio also remains distinctly central, failing to track the Batmobile’s left-to-right movements convincingly.

Barbie’s I’m Just Ken sequence proves more successful, with clear voices and some separation between frequency ranges, though the lack of vibrancy and dynamics means it can’t do justice to heavy action scenes. Kenny Loggins also never quite enters the Danger Zone during the Top Gun: Maverick opening.

While serviceable for casual viewing, the Omni Mini-LED’s audio proves the weaker element of an otherwise competent package.

Overall, the TCL C7K delivers a more accomplished audio performance, with its Bang & Olufsen system providing cleaner detailing, better frequency extension, and more room for soundtracks to breathe.

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

The Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED is a solid entry point into the mid-range TV market.

It delivers clear improvements over basic LED sets, with its Mini LED backlighting providing decent black levels and respectable contrast.

The focus on balanced tuning that preserves dark detail proves commendable, while comprehensive app support and gaming credentials make it a versatile choice for mixed-use scenarios.

However, its conservative approach ultimately holds it back. Lower peak brightness compared with rivals, slightly washed-out colours in demanding scenes, a restrictive stand design, and mediocre built-in audio prevent it from truly standing out in an increasingly competitive mid-range market.

In contrast, the TCL C7K demonstrates what can be achieved when aggressive pricing meets genuinely next-level engineering.

Its explosive brightness and contrast, expansive Quantum Dot colour reproduction and excellent shadow detail reproduction deliver picture quality that feels at least a class above its price point.

The 1008-zone Mini LED backlight operates with remarkable consistency, while both Standard and Filmmaker modes prove highly effective for their respective purposes.

The Bang & Olufsen audio system, while not perfect, outperforms most built-in TV speakers at this price, and the comprehensive gaming support, including 4K/144Hz, extensive VRR options, and low input lag, will appeal to serious players. Google TV provides clean, advertisement-light navigation with excellent app support.

The TCL C7K delivers truly exceptional performance-per-pound. It earns five stars for picture quality versus the Fire TV’s four, matched by superior sound and, overall, the TCL proves the superior choice for viewers seeking the most convincing performance at an accessible price

For those prioritising tight integration with Amazon’s ecosystem and who don’t demand the ultimate in brightness or contrast, the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED still offers appeal.

For everyone else seeking the best possible picture quality and value in a sub-£1000 65-inch Mini LED TV, the TCL C7K stands as the clear winner.

** Overall Winner: TCL C7K **

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Today’s best 65-inch TCL C7K and Amazon Omni Mini-LED deals