Hisense U8K 4K HDR TV Review

65” 120Hz U8 Series ULED Mini-LED Google Smart TV

Intro

Ever since I laid eyes on the Hisense U8K, I’ve looked forward to writing this review. What led to that anticipation was the breathtaking picture quality I experienced while evaluating this TV. I must say that the picture quality easily rivals or even surpasses the picture quality from the likes of Sony and Samsung’s top-tier displays, in my opinion.

The U8 Series is available in 55”, 65”, 75”, 85”, and 100” screen sizes. I would love to see the 100” model!

All models are designed with VA panels, except the 75” model which has an ADS Pro panel. This means when viewing the 75” model in a dark room you will not see the deep black levels as would be seen on the VA panel variants.

Design & Features

The U8K is part of Hisense’s high-end ULED TVs for 2023 and sits just below the UX model.  The U8K is a well-designed display with very good build quality. As I examined the display it did not feel or appear cheaply made. The overall construction was very solid. The metal feet that support the panel provide good stability reducing panel wobble to a minimum.

The U8 Series uses mini-LEDs to illuminate the TV screen. The 65” model has approximately 1,008 local dimming zones. The abundance of mini-LED dimming zones on this TV will allow for more precise local dimming control which can be seen in the form of greater contrast and black levels. More local dimming zones also reduce the amount of blooming or halo effect that can be seen around bright objects set against a black background or in a dark scene.

The U8K screen contains a semi-gloss finish and is surrounded by very thin borders that give the display a nice aesthetic appeal that will look great in just about any room.

Feature highlights:

4K ULED

• • Hisense’s proprietary ULED technologies boost color, contrast, brightness, and motion. This suite of patented hardware and software technologies delivers an engaging and unique picture that can only be delivered by Hisense

Mini-LED Pro with Full Array Local Dimming

• The latest breakthrough in backlight technology, Mini-LED can create a brighter image with greater contrast and more precise local dimming than traditional LED TVs

QLED Quantum Dot Color

• QLED produces purer, richer, more brilliant, and more accurate colors than a regular LED TV. Creating over a billion color combinations brings vibrant images to life in a way non-QLED TVs can’t

Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos

• Dolby Vision HDR picture and Dolby Atmos sound are cinema technology for your home. They provide amazing realism you can see and hear in every scene

Dolby Vision IQ

• Auto-optimized for any light. Dolby Vision IQ dynamically adjusts to the changing light in the room and the type of content being played back

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 & HLG HDR format processing

IMAX ENHANCED

• Unleash the power of IMAX in your home. Experience IMAX’s signature brand picture quality and DTS audio immersion from the comfort of your own home

2.1.2 Multi-Channel Audio

• With 50W of total power driving 5 speakers including rear ‘overhead’ speakers and a built-in subwoofer the U8 sounds as good as it looks

Metal Stand, Bezel-less design

• A bezel-less design gives this television a sleek aesthetic that won’t ‘overpower’ the room with an unnecessarily large frame. The metal stand provides sturdy support for this feature-packed television

Filmmaker Mode

• By disabling all post-processing (e.g. motion smoothing) and preserving the correct aspect ratios, colors, and frame rates, Filmmaker Mode enables your TV to display the movie or television show’s content precisely as it was intended by the filmmaker

Smooth Motion and 144Hz Native refresh rate

• Smooth Motion removes the digital noise that can affect moving objects. The TV’s native 144Hz refresh rate is the foundation for its 480 motion rate, which ensures moving objects have minimal blurring

144Hz Game Mode Pro

• All the most advanced gaming tech. HDMI 2.1 inputs recognize gaming to automatically adjust settings for smooth, uninterrupted play. The automatic low-latency mode (ALLM), 144Hz VRR, and FreeSync Premium Pro minimize input lag, screen jitter, and frame tearing

Dolby Vision Gaming

• This television can support Dolby Vision for gaming at 4k 144Hz

Voice Remote

• The voice remote control makes controlling your TV easier. Open apps, turn the volume up or down, and search for your favorite shows. And if the actual remote goes missing, use the buttons on the TV to activate ‘Find My Remote’

Hands-Free Voice Control

• Put down the remote. Change the channel, find the latest movie, stream your favorite video, and more with your voice. The quicker, easier way to find whatever you want to watch

Smart TV OS – Google TV

• The U8K uses Goole TV. It’s easy to use and is smooth and very responsive and has a large selection of apps

Google Assistant

• The Google Assistant is built into Google TV. Tell it to turn on the lights, change the thermostat, add stuff to your grocery list, or just play that video of your friend falling over for the millionth time. And with universal search, you can even get recommendations with Google TV

Works with Alexa

• This television works with Alexa through any of your Alexa-enabled devices. Just ask Alexa to switch the TV on or off, change channels, and lots more

Bluetooth Connectivity

• Wirelessly connect Bluetooth-compatible soundbars, headphones or stereo components to your TV. This quick and convenient connection eliminates unwanted and unsightly cords while providing a secure connection to your audio source

2-Year Warranty

• Enjoy peace of mind thanks to Hisense’s 2-year warranty on this ULED TV

Connectivity

• 4 HDMI inputs – two 2.1 up to 4K@144Hz (inputs 3 & 4)/two 2.0 4K@60Hz – HDCP 2.2 compliant
• 2 USB inputs – one 3.0 and one 2.0
• 1 RCA audio/video composite input (adaptor required)
• 1 Digital optical audio output
• 1 RF input for cable/satellite TV
• ATSC 3.0 Tuner (NEXTGEN TV)
• 1 Ethernet (LAN) Input
• eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) HDMI 3
• Built-in 802.11ax Wi-Fi6E
• Bluetooth enabled 5.2
• 1 Analog audio output (3.5mm)

Performance

Note: For the most accurate picture quality, use the “Theater Night”, Theater Day, or “Filmmaker Mode” picture mode settings for SDR content. For HDR content use the “HDR Theater”, “IMAX” or “Filmmaker” picture mode settings. Set the color temperature to “Warm 1”.

As I mentioned at the top of this review, the picture quality of the U8K is fantastic, especially considering its price point, and delivers some very strong competition for the top brands including Sony and Samsung.

Its overall picture quality does a great job of covering the key performance metrics of TVs and does just about everything right, which is high praise for a TV manufacturer that is considered a budget brand.

With today’s modern TVs, picture brightness is very important especially when viewing HDR content or when watching in a brightly lit room. The U8K does an incredible job with both HDR and SDR content. *Peak brightness output with HDR content was almost 2,000 nits (1,994 nits with a 10% window. And *peak brightness with SDR content was 1,549 nits with a 10% window.

HDR content looks amazing on this TV thanks to its high peak brightness output. HDR highlights are very bright on this display and make HDR content pop. That being said, the U8K is a great TV for watching HDR content and is presented as intended by the content creators. SDR content also looks great on this TV and has plenty of peak brightness output, so glare won’t be an issue which makes the U8K ideal for watching content in a brightly lit room.

Color rendering was excellent on this display. Out-of-the-box color accuracy was some of the best I’ve ever seen. The color palette was rich and well-saturated with no visible color anomalies that distracted me from my viewing experience. I was very impressed with what I saw on this display and I would typically see this level of color accuracy and processing on more expensive high-end TVs from Sony and Samsung.

The U8K produced excellent detail and clarity and was at its best with 4K HDR images. These images had great transparency and depth providing a more life-like quality.

As I mentioned earlier in this review, the U8K uses mini-LEDs which provide better precise local dimming, improved contrast and black levels, higher peak brightness, and better screen uniformity. During my evaluation, all of these picture characteristics were readily apparent. I was very impressed with the extreme contrast ratio on this display which translated to exceptionally deep black levels and were some of the best black levels I’ve ever seen outside of an OLED TV. Additionally, black levels didn’t appear crushed which allowed for very good shadow detail and was very apparent while viewing dark movie scenes with low levels of ambient lighting.

The U8K has great blooming control due to the small size of its dimming zones which helps to minimize any blooming around bright objects or subtitles in dark scenes. However, you may still notice some blooming with bright objects on a black, or near black, background. This is to be expected due to the nature of how LED TVs are designed and operate.

Black screen uniformity is outstanding on this TV. And while viewing a black screen, the blacks were even across the entire screen.

Gray screen uniformity was decent on the U8K. There was some dirty screen effect on a test pattern, but nothing major that would be distracting when viewing normal content.

Viewing angle performance was what I expected from most LED TVs, which was some contrast and color saturation loss when viewing the TV from wide angles, in addition to the backlight being more visible the further of angle (axis) you sit from the TV.

Motion handling – The U8K does a decent job with motion resolution. When viewing normal fast-action content, whether it be sporting events or movies, the motion was smooth and blur-free.

Input lag for gaming was excellent on this display: approx 14.0 ms with 1080p and 4K signals @ 60Hz. With 1080p and 4K signals @ 120Hz, input lag was approx. 5.0 ms. With 1080p signals @ 144Hz is approx. 4.7 ms and with 4K signals @ 144Hz is approx. 5.1 ms.

The sound quality from the U8K was decent and performed above average for a flat-panel TV. The built-in 50-watt 2.1.2 multi-channel audio system, which includes a built-in woofer, and Dolby Atmos processing adds some punch and spatial immersion to the audio presentation. Nevertheless, you can achieve much better audio performance with a soundbar.

Conclusion

The Hisense U8K is a great 4K HDR mini-LED TV. It offers stellar performance that rivals the high-end TVs from Samsung and Sony. And what’s even more amazing is that you get this type of high-end performance at a much cheaper price point. And in my opinion, there isn’t a better price vs. performance option on the market.

I would personally use the U8K as my main TV without hesitation; that’s just how well it performs. And I can’t say enough how much I truly enjoyed the Hisense U8K. And I give it my highest recommendation. So put it at the top of your shortlist.

Check out HDTVs and More’ YouTube video review for the Hisense U8K 4K TV here.

All image credit Hisense

*Source: Rtings.com