Hisense E7NQ PRO vs Hisense A7NQ

Based on the luminance chart, which indicates around 550 nits, it can be considered that Hisense E7NQ PRO theoretically has the potential to somewhat "enchant" us with its HDR image. Testing various scenes from movies, we noticed that the television continually tries to balance between maintaining appropriate brightness and preserving the deepest blacks. In favourable conditions – such as in a scene from “The Meg”, where the screen is flooded with bright light – this brightness can indeed impress us. At such moments, we feel that HDR actually adds that "something" to the image. Unfortunately, when difficult shots with fine, bright elements on a dark background appear on the screen, the situation looks much worse. Brightness then drops to 200-300 nits, which is definitely too little to really distinguish HDR from standard SDR.

It is clear that the television is trying, but the hardware limitations – mainly the small number of local dimming zones – prevent it from fully spreading its wings. The end result can therefore be quite inconsistent and as average as the contrast tests. On the plus side, it deserves credit for its impressive coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 97%. This allows the television to present a truly wide range of colours, which, in the right scenes, can give us at least a glimpse of the real HDR effect. It’s just a shame that the whole picture isn't complemented by better control of brightness and contrast.

We checked how the Hisense A7NQ performs with HDR, and there's no surprise here. The luminance chart showed a maximum brightness of 370 nits. The result? Exactly what one could expect – average. At around 350 nits, HDR doesn’t stand out much compared to SDR. Sure, there’s a subtle difference in more brightly lit scenes, but it’s not a show-stopping effect. In terms of wide colour gamut coverage, the result was 92% for DCI-P3 and 70.2% for BT.2020. These are decent values for a TV in this class, which uses a PFS coating – the same one that’s sometimes promoted as QLED. The colours look alright, but don’t expect something that competes with the best screens on the market. HDR on the Hisense A7NQ is more of an add-on than a "game changer". For those looking for solid image quality on a moderate budget – it’s definitely acceptable. However, if we expect full HDR capabilities, it’s worth looking at models from the higher price range.

When we took our copy of Hisense E7NQ PRO out of the box, we immediately started checking the available picture modes. Among them, the Filmmaker mode seemed the most promising, although it wasn't without its flaws. With standard SDR content, we noticed a clear tendency to overemphasise red, making the picture appear unnaturally warm. This was particularly evident in the comparison photo attached below. Conversely, when we switched to HDR content, the situation took a turn in the opposite direction. This time, blue was dominant, and there was hardly any red, resulting in a cool, at times almost "store-like" appearance — although not as drastic as in modes specifically designed for showcasing in displays. As a result, in our tests assessing colour reproduction, these disturbances in colour balance led to significant errors.

Additionally, the television had trouble reproducing brightness characteristics. At lower resolutions, it clearly brightened the darkest elements of the image, and with HDR content, the brightness curve (eotf) simply wouldn't align as it should. Initially, the television excessively darkened the smallest details, only to then over-brighten larger areas. Fortunately, the E7NQ PRO provides us with a lot of calibration tools, so knowing there was potential within it, we decided to take matters into our own hands and try to set it up to eliminate these issues.

When testing the Hisense A7NQ in Filmmaker mode, we hoped for alignment with the manufacturer's intentions, but unfortunately, reality looks different. The main issue, as with most TVs, is the white balance. In the case of the A7NQ, we noticed a clear dominance of blue, which affected both lower-quality materials and 4K HDR content. The Color Checker test results confirm this, and the comparative images speak for themselves – the lead actress in "factory" mode looks cool and pale. It appears as though she has been stripped of life.

As for brightness characteristics, both gamma and the EOTF curve show that the image is overly bright. As a result, everything seems flat, lacking depth and contrast. This state of affairs certainly does not work in favour of the A7NQ and makes the image reception in factory mode leave much to be desired. If we expect natural colour reproduction and appropriate image depth, the A7NQ in Filmmaker mode is unlikely to impress us. It’s a TV that requires significant adjustment to bring out its potential.

Thanks to the tools available in E7NQ PRO, we've managed to squeeze a pretty decent image out of it, especially with lower quality content. After fine-tuning the white balance of the SDR materials, the colours look much more natural, and what we see on the screen seems closer to the vision the producer intended to present. Additionally, we've improved the brightness characteristics (Gamma), so the TV no longer tends to over-brighten, and everything looks noticeably better than before our intervention.

With HDR materials, we also achieved some improvements, although it's not as rosy here. Yes, the white balance has approached an acceptable level, but the problem lies elsewhere. It's about the EOTF curve, which is how the TV manages brightness and tonality of the image. At first glance, one might think that the biggest issue concerns only the mid-tones, which are overly brightened. However, after more detailed testing and activating the EOTF curve visualisation filters, it becomes clear that the receiver has a tendency to brighten the entire screen. This seems to be a limitation due to the small number of local dimming zones and generally modest brightness management capabilities. Such hardware limitations are simply insurmountable. Nonetheless, after our calibration, the image is noticeably better than at the start. One just needs to be aware that in terms of contrast and brightness management, this model has its limits, which even a good calibration cannot fully overcome.

Hisense A7NQ offers several tools that allow you to improve image quality, so we decided to take matters into our own hands and do some "digging" in the settings. Thanks to professional tools and measurements, we managed to correct the white balance, eliminating excessive dominance of blue in both HD and 4K content. This is a significant step forward, as in the Color Checker test, the errors in colour reproduction in lower-quality content dropped to a much more acceptable level. Unfortunately, 4K content still falls short of perfection – colour distortions are significant here and stem from the limitations of the television.

As for the gamma, we managed to set it at the correct level, which significantly reduced the excessive brightening of the image. However, the issue with the brightness characteristics in 4K content remains unresolved – the EOTF curve still shows excessive brightness across the entire screen. It's possible that a proper implementation of dynamic tone mapping could make a difference here, but as we mentioned earlier, this feature in Hisense A7NQ works rather poorly, instead of helping. Nevertheless, the calibration significantly improved the overall image perception. The director's vision is now much better represented than in the factory settings, which more demanding viewers will definitely appreciate.

When it comes to the tonal transition smoothing function in lower quality materials, the “smooth and gradient image” feature in Hisense E7NQ PRO unfortunately does not impress. At the lowest setting, the change is barely noticeable – it's more of a cosmetic improvement. Switching to “Medium” mode does produce a noticeable effect, but it's still nothing special, and the TV starts to excessively interfere with other elements of the image, which can look unnatural.

Image scaling is also rather average. On the test screen, where a portrait of a model and text are displayed, there are slight frays at the edges, making the overall presentation less smooth and aesthetic than we would expect in this class of device. It's just hard to talk about really effective improvement of lower resolution quality here.

The Hisense A7NQ impresses with its smooth tonal transitions in 4K content, but unfortunately, we won't find any features here that improve this aspect in older, lower-quality materials. In such cases, colour transitions become more noticeable, which can slightly detract from the overall picture quality, especially in scenes with a lot of gradients.

When it comes to upscaling, the television performs surprisingly well. The image is clearly improved, though it comes with certain compromises. It can be seen that the TV adds a touch of artificial sharpness, and background elements, like branches, tend to exhibit slight "jaggies." However, these are details that will mainly catch the eye of those who pay attention to such nuances.

Thanks to the use of a 144 Hz panel, E7NQ PRO performs exceptionally well with almost any type of content. Whether we're watching fast-paced matches, dynamic games or action films – the fluidity of motion leaves a good impression. When it comes to movies, the manufacturer has equipped the TV with two key tools: “motion blur reduction” and “judder reduction.” Each of these functions can be adjusted on a scale from 1 to 10.

At lower values, the processing is subtle, barely noticeable, and gently smooths motion without ruining the cinematic character of the image. The higher we move up the scale, the more clearly the TV interferes with the presented material, smoothing motion more aggressively, thereby minimising any judders or micro-cuts. Conversely, the highest settings can resemble the so-called “soap opera effect,” which makes the image look overly smooth, slightly losing its cinematic atmosphere. Thanks to this scale, however, we can find a happy medium, adjusting motion fluidity to our own preferences.

The Hisense A7NQ is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, which means that dynamic scenes – for example in sports or gaming – come across as rather average here. This is standard in this class of equipment, but it's worth noting that watching more intense, fast-moving content can leave a lot to be desired. However, when it comes to movies, the TV offers a motion smoothing feature that works on a 10-point scale. The "judder reduction" option allows you to adjust the smoothness of the image to your own preferences. At the lowest setting, you get a natural film frame rate, which will appeal to cinema purists. Conversely, the maximum setting provides a very smooth, theatrical image, which may be appreciated by those who prefer a more "smeared" motion.

If we sometimes like to turn on the console and immerse ourselves in the world of games for long hours, E7NQ PRO can make a really good impression. Thanks to the 144 Hz refresh rate, the gameplay is surprisingly smooth, and support for HDMI 2.1 and VRR ensures that the image doesn't "tear" even during the most dynamic actions. Additionally, there's ALLM, which automatically sets the lowest latency as soon as we switch to the console – so we don’t have to fiddle around in the options ourselves.

A big plus is also the ability to launch games in Dolby Vision, which makes colors and contrast simply look better. Hisense has also included a clear "gamebar," allowing us to continuously monitor the key parameters and change settings without leaving the game. The only thing we might slightly regret is the lack of HGIG support. It may not be a crucial element, but for some gamers, it can matter if they aim for the most faithful reproduction of the creators' vision. Nevertheless, in practice, the E7NQ PRO performs excellently and delivers truly enjoyable gaming experiences.

Hisense A7NQ is a piece of gear that may pleasantly surprise gamers, although it's not without its flaws. The fact that it has a 60 Hz panel immediately suggests that the TV is not designed for the most demanding gaming scenarios. The motion blur we mentioned earlier can also be a drawback, especially in fast-paced games.

However, there are a few things worth praising. The TV supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which is not always standard in this price range. The biggest surprise, however, is that the A7NQ can display visuals at 120 Hz – albeit only in Full HD resolution, but it's still a significant nod to gamers. This provides the option to choose between smoothness and resolution, which is not obvious in TVs at this price.

A nice addition is the Game Bar, which is clear and practical – all the essential features are at hand without having to dig through the settings. However, it lacks support for HGiG, which could be a disappointment for gamers seeking perfect HDR in games.