TCL RM9L packs four 144Hz HDMI 2.1 ports

TCL RM9L – TCL’s RM9L RGB-Mini aims at low-latency gaming with four HDMI 2.1 ports, each rated up to 144Hz, plus eARC passthrough for audio. In hands-on testing with an Xbox Series X and Google TV, the remote mostly feels great, but the picture—especially in dim scenes—n

TCL’s RM9L RGB-Mini makes its first bet early: four HDMI 2.1 ports, and each one can handle a 144Hz refresh rate. It’s a straightforward promise for people who want low latency on PC gaming or any fast console experience—without juggling adapters or sacrificing performance.

One of those HDMI 2.1 ports is also set up for eARC passthrough audio, built for powered speakers or a receiver. In testing, the setup was practical and familiar: an Xbox Series X and a Google TV, with Klipsch the Nines II speakers connected for sound.

TCL keeps the rest of the connectivity equally usable. There are two USB ports, including one coaxial. You also get an Ethernet port for a wired connection and a digital optical port. The TV supports Wi-Fi 6. which TCL says is fast and compatible—something that matters once you’re done swapping devices and just want stable streaming.

The remote is the part that surprised me most. It’s clean and easy to use. and it adds one small design choice that feels genuinely thoughtful: brightness controls are on the right-hand side. For late-night gaming sessions. that means you can quickly crank brightness down—or bump it up when sunlight hits—without hunting through menus. Tiny notches on the remote also help you find the volume and channel controls by feel. At this price, the remote is also backlit, which makes the whole thing easier to live with in the dark.

But not every button is a hit. The buttons for free TV channels and a few others feel like they’re trying too hard, and the Home button not being centered makes it harder to locate quickly. Those are minor frustrations, but they stick—especially when the rest of the remote is so intuitive.

Testing the picture is where the RM9L starts to show its personality, and sometimes, its limits.

Two movies are always my first stop for contrast and brightness checks: Awake on Netflix and The Creator on the Fandango at Home app. Both lean heavily on dimly lit scenes at night or near dawn, which is where TVs can either shine—or smear details into a flatter gray.

With Awake, the difference showed up fast. Even scenes that looked washed out were only clearly readable after switching to the Vivid picture mode. I also found that Mini RGB tech can be fussy, often demanding picture quality tweaks before it settles into something convincing.

The Creator came with its own issue. An early ocean scene didn’t deliver the vividness I’d expect for the price. Without the right settings, the scene looked slightly washed out, with not enough blue and not enough deep blacks. After trying Vivid and Dolby Vision IQ picture modes, it was still too grayed out for my taste.

Skin tones were another weak spot in side-by-side comparisons. The RM9L underperformed compared with the LG Micro RGB Evo, and I noticed a lack of tonal variation. Even so. when placed next to the LG set. the gap was clearer—and at that point. the RM9L lined up more closely with other midrange Mini RGB beneficiaries.

In that same comparison space, the RM9L matched up more closely with the midrange Sony Bravia 7 Mark II and the Hisense UR9, both of which also benefit from Mini RGB tech.

A demo reel benchmark added a final reality check. The mist-over-snow challenge is tough, and the Leica Cine Play 1 projector wasn’t a fair baseline anyway, because its lens is exceptional and that model is also cheaper. Still, the mist was far more distinct on the Leica projector.

For other scenes. green grass near a fence in winter looked more noticeable and obvious on the Leica Cine Play 1 than on the Hisense UR9. while the two televisions were about equal during a segment featuring buffalo on a field. Brown shades varied between the sets there, but neither pulled fully ahead.

The LG Micro RGB Evo continued to edge out the rest in a way that was visible without squinting: it rendered scenes with more color, including a yellow flower, a red cactus, a purple butterfly, and dark trees in a nighttime segment.

In the end. the TCL RM9L RGB-Mini delivers the kind of gaming-ready connectivity you’d want on day one—four HDMI 2.1 ports. all capable of 144Hz. plus eARC support. wired and wireless options. and a remote that mostly makes everyday use easier. But the picture demands patience. In dim scenes. it often takes the right mode—and sometimes more than one—to keep details from looking washed out. For buyers chasing both performance and effortless image quality. that’s the trade-off the RM9L asks you to live with.

TCL RM9L RGB-Mini HDMI 2.1 144Hz eARC Wi-Fi 6 Mini LED Xbox Series X Google TV Dolby Vision IQ Klipsch the Nines II gaming TV