Hisense E7NQ PRO vs TCL A300W NXTVision

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.

When it comes to brightness, the TCL A300W is definitely the dimmest TV among all frame-style models, such as Samsung The Frame or Hisense CanvasTV – and unfortunately, you can see that right away. In our measurements, peak luminance reached only around 400 nits, and on test movie screens, this value dropped to 350 nits. That’s definitely too little to feel the real "magic" of bright HDR effects. As a consolation – the TV is equipped with a PFS LED coating (which is something like QLED), which provides very good coverage of a wide colour gamut, both DCI-P3 and BT.2020. In addition, there is full support for all popular HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision – which somewhat compensates for the shortcomings in brightness and helps improve the overall experience of materials in this quality.

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.

TCL A300 offers several picture modes, but without a doubt, the movie mode performs the best. Unfortunately, even though it is the best option available, it is not free from errors. Both in HD and HDR content, the image has a noticeably too warm hue – it has a slight pink tint, which is particularly noticeable in snowy scenes. Instead of pure white, we get a pinkish coating that spoils the natural perception of colours.

The management of brightness is also lacking. In the case of older HD materials, the image often seems too dark – confirmed by an elevated gamma value. Conversely, with HDR content, the effect is the opposite – the image is overly bright, as we observed in scenes from the film Pan. Such a lack of consistency also affects colour accuracy – a test with a ColorChecker showed that many samples clearly deviate from reference values.

Fortunately, TCL allows for manual adjustment of settings, so we decided to check how the television would perform after our professional calibration. The effects of this adjustment are described below.

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.

After our professional calibration, the TCL A300 has literally been given a new lease on life. The image has stopped being too warm, and the colours finally look as they should – as confirmed by the ColorChecker test, where the colour samples finally started hitting their marks, at least to some reasonable degree. It was also possible to partially correct the brightness management – the image is now more balanced and less "wobbly" between different types of content. Of course, certain limitations can't be bypassed – a slightly visible blooming effect still occurs, but that's a characteristic of the technology, not something that can be eliminated even after professional settings.

Generally: after calibration, the A300 looks significantly better and gains a whole new quality.

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.

TCL A300 handles tonal transitions in high-quality films very well, but the question arises – how does it perform with weaker materials? The TV is equipped with a tonal smoothing feature; however, its effectiveness can be described in one word: “random”. In one scene, it may work and improve the gradation, but when turned off… the effect remains the same. There is a lack of consistency and predictability here.

Image scaling is also not one of A300's strong points. On the test pattern, the main character actually looked better than on the raw signal, but with thin lines – like fonts or background details – there was noticeable jaggedness and aliasing. On the plus side, the TV does not cut off the image and has no issues with overscan, but the overall quality of scaling is rather average.

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.

TCL A300 is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, which should instantly satisfy virtually everyone - both gamers and sports fans. Motion is fluid and the image is clear even during fast scenes. Additionally, the television offers a motion enhancement feature called "Motion," where we find two sliders on a 10-point scale. These allow you to adjust the effect to your own preferences - from a classic, filmic look with visible frames to a very smooth (though already unnatural) image reminiscent of a soap opera effect. This way, everyone can find a setting that suits them.

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.

The TCL A300 is a television designed not only to transport us to a digital art museum but also into the full-fledged world of gaming. It offers practically everything you can expect from gaming hardware: two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz refresh rate, support for VRR and ALLM.

It also deserves credit for the proper implementation of the HGIG mode – something that competing Hisense sometimes struggles with. The television handles lower resolutions (e.g., Full HD) with ease while maintaining high refresh rates, which will be appreciated by owners of older consoles or PCs.

Additionally, there's an attractive and clear GameBar that facilitates quick access to settings for gamers. The A300 is indeed well-prepared for gaming at the highest level – it’s just a shame that issues with ghosting somewhat detract from its overall appeal as a gaming device.