Hisense U6G 4K HDR LED TV Review

55U6G ULED 60Hz Android Smart TV

Intro

Hisense is the fastest growing brand in North America and has become a major player in the television market when it comes to providing TVs that offer great performance at very affordable price points.

The U6G is one of those displays and is the entry-level model in Hisense’s premium ULED model lineup for 2021. The U6G is available in 50” ($499), 55” ($549), 65” ($749) and 75” ($1,099) screen sizes.

Design and Features

The U6G is a well-designed TV with solid build quality. It’s made mostly of plastic yet doesn’t feel cheap and is very firm to the touch. This came as a pleasant surprise for such an inexpensive TV. The stand (feet) is also made of plastic and gives the TV good stability on the 55” model.

The bezels (borders) that surround the screen are very thin and add a nice aesthetic touch to the display’s overall appearance. The screen’s semi-gloss finish does a good job at reducing room reflections and will perform well in a room that is not overly bright with sunlight.

The U6G uses full-array LED backlighting with local dimming to illuminate the screen. The LED zone count on the 50” and 55” models is 32, whereas the 65” and 75” models have 60 LED zones. These differences can play a part in how well the displays perform local dimming and control blooming depending on the content you are viewing.

Remote Control

The full-sized remote control is well designed with an intuitive button layout for simple operation of the TV. The remote also contains six direct access buttons which include Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Disney +, Peacock, and to my surprise Tubi. Tubi is one of my favorite and most-watched streaming platforms and provides a massive amount of great free content. If you haven’t checked it out, I suggest you do.

The remote features voice control that allows you to operate certain TV functions including access to the built-in Google Assistant which is part of the U6G’s Android smart TV platform. Hisense has chosen not to migrate to the new Google TV interface. That being said, the older Android interface still provides a smooth and user-friendly operating experience.

Feature Highlights:

• Hisense ULED technologies enhance color, contrast, brightness and motion
• Hi-View Engine Processor (4K)
• Up to 600 nits of peak brightness
• 32 zones of full-array backlighting with local dimming
• Quantum Dot Color
• Wide Color Gamut
• 60Hz native refresh rate
• Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound
• HDR10+, HDR10, HLG – HDR formats
• Filmmaker Mode
• Android TV with built-in Google Assistant | Works with Alexia
• Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) game mode
• Voice Remote

 

Connectivity

• 4 HDMI inputs 2.0 – HDCP 2.2 compliant
• 1 Ethernet (LAN) port
• 2 USB inputs (2.0)
• 1 RF antenna input
• 1 RCA composite A/V input
• 1 Digital optical audio output
• 1 Analog audio output 3.5mm
• Built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• ARC (HDMI 1)

Performance

Let’s get right to the point…is the U6G the new performance/ budget king? Well, I’m not assuredly willing to make that claim but, I will say it is certainly a contender for that title, and here’s why…

Hisense’s U6G delivers very good overall performance and I was very surprised to see this level of performance from such an inexpensive TV. In fact, it rivals many other displays costing twice as much.

What I noticed as soon as I starting watching the U6G with quality 4K content was how dynamic and visually impactful these images were to my eyes. The color palette was rich and very vibrant and revealed natural and accurate tones.

The contrast range was excellent which contributed to the dynamic picture quality while delivering very deep black levels which makes this TV ideal for watching movies in a dark room.

The picture images were also filled with great detail and clarity and very good image depth and transparency.

In summation, the picture quality attributes mentioned above all combined to make the U6G one of the best budget-priced TVs currently available.

In addition, the display I used for this review had good black screen uniformity with only slight or minimal amounts of blooming around white text set against a solid black background. With normal viewing, this blooming will vary depending on the content you’re watching and is greatly reduced with local dimming turned on.

Since the U6G uses a VA panel its wide-angle viewing suffers the typical contrast and color saturation loss when viewed at wide angles.

For motion handling, the U6G is a mixed bag. It doesn’t have a motion interpolation feature which can be an issue if you desire to use this function to help smooth motion artifacts. However, this feature will only be missed if you don’t like certain motion artifacts such as stutter which can be visible depending on content. That being said, motion was generally smooth with the fast action images I viewed.

The U6G produced mediocre sound quality which is no surprise and is very common for many flat-panel TVs especially in this price class. Nevertheless, it can play very loud but lacks bass punch. That said, I recommend a soundbar for a better audio presentation.

The U6G is a good TV for gaming, although it doesn’t have VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) it does have Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and very low input lag (approx. 10ms for 4K and 1080p signals at 60Hz) which will provide a very engaging gaming experience.

Watching HDR content on this TV is decent but not great which is due to its peak brightness output of only 600 nits, which affects how small specular highlights appear on screen. So, if you desire a TV with better HDR performance, I suggest you move up to the U8G if you desire to stay with the Hisense brand name.

Note: Rtings.com has posted “real scene” SDR (standard dynamic range) peak brightness at 493 nits, which is very good, while HDR (high dynamic range) peak brightness is 493 nits.

Conclusion

The Hisense U6G is a very good 4K TV and is one of the best budget TVs currently available in my opinion. It does have its shortcomings such as no eARC, no VRR for gaming, no motion interpolation feature, and no HDMI 2.1 support. These omissions will not necessarily be a deal-breaker for most individuals searching for a TV in this budget vs. performance-price class.  That being said, the U6G’s overall picture quality is very impressive and should satisfy anyone looking for a low-cost option with great performance and value.

HDTVs and More recommended.