The Hisense U7QF is a 55-inch LED LCD TV which uses a Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) backlight with 72 separate zones. We found panel uniformity to be decent with some darker corners and outer edges and a slightly brighter centre when showing a 100% brightness field and a darker centre and lighter edges on a 5% field. These issues were not visible with the vast majority of viewing materials in normal use.
We did encounter some very mild DSE (Dirty Screen Effect) on occasions and some banding when the image panned across a single colour background, such as with some shots in live football games. This is once again a limitation of the technology and is mild on the Hisense, but we have to mention it for completeness. We didn’t notice banding within any other content.
Black bars within HDR 2.40:1 movies, for the most part, did remain black but light bleed was also seen with bright objects close to the bars and could be distracting when watching in a dark room. However, when viewing within a normal living room with ambient lighting it was less noticeable. We also encountered signs of blooming when bright objects appeared on screen with a darker background, such as subtitles and this was most noticeable with HDR content.
Viewing angles are not a strong point on the Hisense and as soon as you get over 20 degrees off-axis colour and gamma start to drift noticeably. Ideally, you should be sat almost directly on to the U7QF to get the best image quality on offer from this TV. This is one of the technical limitations of LED LCD technology. There is a feature within the menus that suggests it improves the viewing angles, but in reality, it adjusts the gamma curve to give the impression of an improved image rather than implementing any physical device to improve matters.
... when sat head on, the image performance is very good and on a par with some much more expensive peers.
The local dimming is effective for the majority of content, but be aware that quick changes in scene brightness can catch it out and there is a delay in applying the correct degree of image dimming. However, we found that living with the U7QF didn’t highlight any major issues with the vast majority of content we viewed, it was only really noticeable with some tricky film content.
The video processing in the Hisense U7QF is powered by the Hi-View Engine which helps with motion and scaling of images. We found the upscaling to be good with only the odd instance of ringing around fine lines in some test patterns, but this was not visible in the vast majority of HD content we viewed.
Motion is also decent with only the odd instance of judder with some 24fps material, but this will only jump out at those looking for it, as it is very subtle. Using the Ultra Smooth Motion controls adds in frame interpolation and Soap Opera Effect (SOE) and the higher you go, the more artefacts are introduced to moving objects within a scene. Care should be taken if you are going to experiment with these settings for sports viewing and so on. You can also use the custom mode and adjust the blur and judder controls to suit your tastes. Clear Motion has its own slot on the menu and adds in flicker to improve motion, however at 25/50hz it is just too much for long viewing sessions.
Moving to actual viewing material and we found the image quality and accuracy to be very good on the U7QF. SDR content looks very good indeed with excellent colour saturation and lifelike skin tones. Blacks are deep when viewed straight on with only the odd instance of crush in difficult mixed scenes. Watching in normal living room lighting and we simply couldn’t fault the Hisense when handling the heavy lifting of Homes Under the Hammer and other daytime fodder. Film viewing was also a good experience with SDR content looking colourful and with plenty of dynamic range. As a living room workhorse, the Hisense would be an excellent choice with an image that looks natural and accurate when set up correctly.
We didn’t have any issues at all with VIDAA which stands up against other providers such as Android.
When switching to low light conditions you do start to notice some of the limitations of LCD technology, especially if moving off-axis, but with SDR content we again found the U7QF to be a strong contender with TV and film content. Black bars in darkroom viewing do start to look a little lighter with SDR content, and light pollution can become a problem when switching to HDR 2.40:1 content. But remember we are being picky here when reviewing and in real life circ*mstances, for the majority of consumers, the Hisense performs extremely well with SDR content.
Moving to HDR and again the Hisense surprises with a nice degree of dynamic range and good backlight control in normal living room conditions. Local Dimming High is the default setting used and introduces some aggressive dimming to some scenes. The usual Gravity torture test (Sandra Bullock floating off into the darkness of space surrounded in stars) catches it out with lots of star crushing present, but we didn’t expect it to pass that test anyway. Adjusting the strength of the local dimming can remove some of the aggressive crushing if you find it annoying, but we really only noticed it in very few tricky scenes and deliberate stress testing.
In a well-lit room, HDR content once again looks accurate with stunning colours and nice dynamic range on offer. Blacks look good with some shadow details present and skin tones remain impressive. We didn’t notice any trailing of fast-moving objects and motion was also decent with only the odd frame skip visible when looking for it. Black bars did light up more when bright objects were close to them in a scene, but in normal lighting, it wasn’t too distracting, and as a movie watcher I was probably more drawn to issues than your regular viewer.
Dolby Vision works very well with the Hisense and using dynamic metadata does improve the HDR performance to give you back more details in the specular highlight areas of the HDR image where they can get blown out with HDR10, HLG and HDR10+ content. As most streaming services now provide DV content as well as a growing catalogue of UHD Blu-rays, you should be able to get the best out of the U7QF.
Once you turn the lights down, more issues surrounding the FALD and LCD technology become apparent with more blooming noticeable around things like subtitles and bright objects like white spaceships against the darkness of space. It is possible to mitigate against some of these issues and making sure your viewing environment is suitable for this type of TV display will help.
A normal living room with good lighting or some bias lighting behind the screen if you want to dim the room down will help, but not eradicate all the issues. Again, we are assessing from a performance standpoint and mentioning everything we have found to give you more information to make your decisions. The Hisense is a very good living room workhorse that will suit a wide range of consumers and some enthusiasts.
Moving to HDR and again the Hisense surprises
The sound quality was decent from the built-in speakers and certainly good enough if you are not a big movie fan. Dolby Atmos is available and creates a decent enough soundstage for the average living room. Bass is lacking but that is to be expected with a TV speaker system, but the soundstage is wide and dialogue is intelligible at all times. Any off-board soundbar with a sub will better the performance, but as a workhorse for normal TV duties, the onboard system is certainly good enough to start with.
Rounding-up on the performance side of things is the gaming capabilities of the U7QF which are decent, with input lag coming in at 17ms in both SDR and HDR modes as measured by the Murideo Seven Generator. HDR gaming was also good, however, there are no HDMI 2.1 features available on the Hisense like VRR or ALLM.
Smart TV is provided by the company’s own VIDAA U4 system and we found it very easy to use and responsive. You have all of the major apps such as Netflix, Rakuten, Prime Video, Britbox and YouTube and in 4K HDR for those capable. There is no Disney+ or Apple TV+ but we don’t think that will be a major stumbling block for most consumers. Plus, we have Freeview Play available with all the UK catch-up services all in one place with their own dedicated page and service. We didn’t have any issues at all with VIDAA which stands up against other providers such as Android.
