2024-02-02 11:16:07
“75” MiniLED, 144Hz gaming mode, 120Hz native 4K panel, quantum dot layer, IMAX mode, Dolby Atmos. There are 512 dimming zones that support HDR10+ and HLG, and Hisense says it can handle up to 1,000 nits. All sounds good, right?
What was forgotten, however, was the design. This is both right and wrong. It has a very small thing sticking out of the bottom, but at the same time, it also has one of the prettiest desk stands I’ve seen in a long time – but behind the gorgeous industrial curves, there’s an ugly secret: it Very deep. However, this only applies to the 75-inch version, as our tester had the same boring T-shaped base as other TVs. Why are we being tricked out of industrial design? If 75 inches is too small, you can also use it with the 100-inch model. A nice touch is that the feet can be mounted in two different positions to benefit those with narrow TV furniture.
Behind it all is the Hi-View engine, which handles everything that needs to be calculated, whether it’s NPU-based or just general color optimization or upscaling. Hisense is also good at not being very specific about the what and how of things, but that could be a trade secret. I don’t know if it’s the same as other information, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across a TV manufacturer that provides as little information on their product website as Hisense. Basic information like weight, antenna ratio, ports, power consumption, or speaker system isn’t even mentioned. For example, it may be relevant to know that half of the HDMI ports are 2.1 ports and half are 2.0b.
This makes sense, since Hisense is one of the few manufacturers in the world that actually makes its own panels, rather than just buying them from Samsung or LG (Hisense OLED is actually still LG’s panel). This means you can get a better price – here it’s £1289.00 for the 75in – and you can be a little more aggressive with your products and how exactly they fit together.
Also spent a little money on games. They have VRR and ALLM in Game Mode Pro, but no G-Sync or FreeSync (but it’s actually there, just not mentioned anywhere, with FreeSync Premium Pro) – this may have something to do with the license. I can’t quite grasp the exact input response, other than it’s less than 20 milliseconds, not great, but not terrible either. The refresh rate here is 144Hz, which I’m assuming is because the panel has an overclocking mode that kicks in along with other gaming features.
Like many other makers, I ended up running Filmmaker Mode. The colors are generally more pleasing to the eye and I don’t feel like I’m in some kind of surreal hippie art exhibit. While Hisense is very keen on their AI Sports mode, especially its sound enhancement, and while I appreciate that they’ve done something specifically focused on fast movements, I could have done without it. Unsurprisingly, I’m not someone who watches a lot of sports on TV. That said, I did notice some artifacts in tennis and ice hockey, and it wasn’t quite as fast and smooth as I’d expect from a dedicated sports mode.
The user interface is called VIDAA. It looks and works like many others, and supports voice commands – I’ve never seen anyone actually use it. On the other hand, it has everything you expect and want. It’s reasonably smooth and fast, responds to remote presses with ease and grace, and while it could do with a design overhaul, it looks like the first thing I’ve ever seen with a 26-inch 720p flat screen of dubious origin.
Here is an ad:
On paper, there are two speakers and a “subwoofer” – although there’s no real information on this, other than a total output of 50 watts. That said, it’s probably one of the best TVs I’ve heard in a long time, it’s almost impressive, but the standard is otherwise poor.
Picture quality is main, and it doesn’t disappoint: strong colours, lots of light (1000 nits now only in HDR) and very reasonable black levels. I think we should remember that this is a TV that costs £1,289, not £2,000, and with that in mind I was impressed with the colours, particularly the color accuracy and good uniformity almost all the way through. There’s usually a bit of variation between each panel, so you might be out of luck with the “cheaper” TVs. Contrast is quite high and the halo effect is minimal. It’s there, but you have to consciously look for it.
The biggest problem with many TVs is that one particular color is seriously oversaturated compared to other colors, and that’s not a problem. The grayscale nuances here shouldn’t be underestimated either. Note, however, that you need to be sitting relatively directly in front of the TV; I found that tilting it from the side didn’t produce a super-ideal image.
#Hisense #U7K