Amazon is offering the 98-inch TCL QM8L 4K TV at its lowest price ever, $2,998.99, with free shipping as part of its Prime Day sale. For Amazon Prime cardholders, an additional 10% cashback is available on top of the existing discount. This represents a 50% saving on the television, which typically retails for $6,000.
The 2026 QM8L model features TCL's Super Quantum Dot (SQD) technology, an advancement over standard QLED. SQD utilizes smaller quantum dots to enable more precise color separation and a greater number of local dimming zones, which can exceed thousands. This results in enhanced brightness and contrast. The 98-inch version of the QM8L offers a peak brightness of up to 6,000 nits and over 4,000 local dimming zones. The television also incorporates TCL's Halo Control System, designed to mitigate the halo effect often seen on LED LCD TVs when bright and dark elements appear adjacent to each other, a common distinguishing factor from OLED displays.
For gamers, the QM8L is equipped with a native 144Hz refresh rate and four HDMI 2.1 ports. The article suggests that at this screen size, the 98-inch QM8L is a superior choice compared to the 97-inch LG G6 OLED TV, which has a higher price point and uses a less advanced panel in its largest configuration, resulting in lower brightness and a capped 120Hz refresh rate.
Furthermore, the 98-inch TCL QM8L is presented as a more practical option than a home theater projector for most users seeking a large-screen experience. While projectors can offer larger screen sizes (120 inches or more), achieving comparable image quality to the QM8L requires spending over $4,000 on the projector itself, plus additional costs for a suitable screen and optimal dark room conditions. The author, who has owned a high-end Sony projector for over a decade, recommends the TV for both movie watching and gaming at this scale.
Even when compared to TCL's own higher-end 98-inch X11L model, which boasts more dimming zones (20,000 vs. 4,000) and higher peak brightness (10,000 nits vs. 6,000 nits), the QM8L is considered the more sensible purchase for most. Despite the X11L's technical superiority, its price is nearly three times that of the QM8L, with the article arguing the difference in real-world image quality does not justify the significant price gap.