Review: Thomson QLED Pro (55QG7C14)

French TV manufacturer Thomson has made an impressive comeback in the European market. Offering a wide range of models produced in Europe, they hope to revive their former glory. According to the manufacturer, their focus is on build quality and smart design, and without necessarily costing a fortune.

The Thomson QLED Pro is a relatively new mid-range model that offers many smart features, including Dolby Vision and 144Hz, at a reasonable price. And that’s necessary to compete in an increasingly tough TV market!

Thomson QLED Pro: Design

We already have good experiences with the cheaper UG5 model from Thomson, which we tested recently. When we unpack the slightly more expensive big brother QG7, nicknamed ‘QLED Pro’, it’s easy to see that it belongs to the same family. A slim but sturdy metal casing and a central swivel stand make the TV usable and easy to position. The impression of quality is impeccable and it feels like the screen is built to last.

Google TV

The Thomson display is based on the popular Google TV interface used by a wide range of TV manufacturers. The biggest advantage of the Google platform is the wide range of apps. You can find virtually all global streaming services – as well as the more regional ones – here and the list is constantly updated. As long as you are connected to a Google account, you can get personalised content recommendations. Family members can have their own user profiles and voice control (Google Assistant) is available via the microphone in the remote control.

The TV therefore feels easy and logical to operate, but it’s worth mentioning that Thomson hasn’t made any major changes to the regular menu system. There are no particularly advanced or original setting options here, for better or worse.

QLED TV

Compared to the UG5, the QLED Pro has some important upgrades under the hood in the form of a more advanced ‘QLED’ LCD panel. The display uses a Quantum Dot LED colour filter, which contributes to a wider colour spectrum and better brightness.

In addition, the refresh rate has been increased from 60 to 144Hz. This makes the Thomson TV more receptive to modern video formats, not least gaming. It also allows for better interpolation (smoother movements).

The QLED Pro also has direct LED backlighting, but this is a relatively simple implementation with few LEDs and no localised dimming. So it cannot dazzle you with high brightness or switch individual parts of the panel on and off for better black levels. These things typically cost more money.

Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

Another welcome addition on the Thomson QLED Pro is the HDR format Dolby Vision, which was conspicuous by its absence on its little brother UG5. Unlike regular HDR10, Dolby Vision contains dynamic metadata – extra information in the video signal – that helps optimise brightness, contrast and colour in content.

Of course, without local dimming, it can be argued that the Thomson panel has limited benefit from HDR, but in our experience the Dolby version is still preferable as it often has better picture quality than the HDR10 version.

Image quality

What does it look like in practice? Well, right from the factory, the Thomson TV (like others) comes in a power-saving Eco mode. The downside of this is that it limits brightness and contrast, and thus doesn’t show what the TV is really capable of. So the first thing we did was switch the display mode to Standard (while blatantly ignoring repeated power consumption warnings!).

The Standard setting turned out to be a good all-round picture mode that worked well for most TV content. The Thomson impressed with a sharp, contrasty and pleasant picture with enough brightness for daytime TV viewing. In addition, movement was smooth and flicker-free.

When we switched to streaming services like Netflix, the Dolby Vision HDR mode is activated for movies. Then you can enjoy modern movies or new series like ‘La Palma’ with excellent contrast and colour detail.

Compared to its little brother UG5 and many others, there’s no doubt that the colour reproduction is stronger and more nuanced. However, you should still sit directly in front of the screen or angle it in the direction of where you are sitting. This is because the viewing angle is quite narrow and results in significantly paler colours to the sides – something that is typical of LCD.

In addition, we found that the Standard colour temperature was quite cold and gave a noticeable blue-green tint to the image. The Warm setting was therefore preferable. The menus don’t offer much more in the way of adjustment options: Thomson could have provided access to more advanced colour and calibration settings for advanced users.

When it comes to overall brightness and contrast, we’re not dealing with an ‘OLED killer’. The Thomson display lacks localised dimming as mentioned, so while the black level is good, you can’t expect pitch black backgrounds. The brightness is also moderate (measured at around 500 nits), so you won’t be dazzled by the HDR effects. If that’s your goal, you’re better off spending a few thousand extra on an OLED or MiniLED TV.

Thomson does have an advantage when it comes to motion, which is impressively smooth and offers a clear advantage in sports, for example. Thanks to its 120Hz/144Hz refresh rate and additional video processing, it can create a noticeably smoother picture than many competitors in the same price range, which still make do with 60Hz. With two HDMI 2.1 compatible inputs, you can connect gaming consoles or a gaming PC and enjoy gaming at up to 4K/120Hz or 144Hz at lower resolutions. This is definitely something that gaming enthusiasts in the family will appreciate.

Sound quality

Thomson has also found room for decent sound in the compact screen: there are relatively powerful speakers at the bottom of the screen to ensure clear and strong speech. Music and sound effects also sound good. That said, we didn’t notice much difference in sound compared to its little brother, the UG5. However, the QLED Pro has Dolby Atmos sound processing, which is also supported via the built-in apps. This makes it easier to connect an external Atmos-compatible soundbar and achieve a big improvement in sound.

 

Conclusion

The Thomson QLED Pro is another well-made and reliable TV from the French manufacturer. The screen is solidly built and may not necessarily be the slimmest, but it’s still a breath of fresh air compared to the ‘plastic screens’ from various suppliers. The display quality is great, sharp and colourful – suitable for most TV content.

There are plenty of competitors out there – including Samsung The Frame, which can entice with picture framing and even more smart features. And not least the TCL MQLED80, with its high-contrast MiniLED backlight. Our impression of the Thomson display is that this is a TV made for most people who want a simple, unpretentious and user-friendly TV they can trust, and on that basis we can confidently recommend the Thomson QLED Pro.