Hisense E8Q vs Sony Bravia 3 50' (VA)

Since the E8Q is a twin of the U7Q, it’s no surprise that the HDR effect quality is almost identical. On paper, it looks promising – a peak brightness of 800 nits can impress in many scenes. Moments like light flashes in “The Meg” or shots of the sun in “Life of Pi” can indeed create a “wow” effect. But the longer we watch, the more we notice the limitations. The problem arises when small, bright details need to be shown against a dark background. In such situations, the dimming algorithms try to protect the contrast, but in the process, they also dim what should shine the brightest. Instead of dazzling details, we get almost invisible points of light. This is typical for Mini-LED in this price segment and is not surprising – but it’s worth knowing that the HDR effect will not always be fully preserved. Fortunately, the colour reproduction provides reasons to be pleased. A coverage of the DCI-P3 palette of about 94% is a very good result, and the quantum dot layer used (more precisely, PFS) does its job – colours are saturated and vibrant, especially with 4K content.

Interestingly, in the 50-inch version, the Bravia 3 performs slightly better in terms of brightness than its larger variants. In measurements, it achieved around 370 nits, which still aren’t values that can compete with top-tier TVs, but are sufficient to speak of a semblance of HDR effect. For some users, this level will be acceptable; others will consider it typical for SDR content, where striking highlights or strong contrasts are not expected. So it must be clearly stated that the Bravia 3 is not a TV for those who want to squeeze maximum quality from the most challenging film materials.

However, this doesn’t mean that everything is average. Sony has equipped this model with an additional PFS filter, which works similarly to the solutions used in QLED TVs. As a result, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut has increased to over 91 percent. In everyday use, this means livelier, more saturated colours and a more pleasant image quality. Even if it lacks strong lighting effects, movies and series can look significantly more appealing than in its predecessor, the X75WL.

Testing the Hisense E8Q in Filmmaker mode, we were hoping for a potentially neutral picture resembling the director's vision. Unfortunately – although it doesn't look too bad on paper (the colour reproduction errors aren't significant), in practice the image feels somewhat unnatural. The reason? The blue colour is boosted too strongly and there is a deficiency of red in the white balance. The effect? Scenes appear cool, and the white seems slightly bluish. Alongside the U7Q model, we also noticed a specific approach to brightness management here. The brightness reproduction curve for HDR content (EOTF) shows that the TV can significantly dim small, bright elements on the screen to maintain contrast – but sometimes it goes too far. On the other hand, it can excessively brighten larger, very bright areas, which disrupts tonal balance. It's a compromise that may not suit everyone – especially if you want a potentially faithful picture straight out of the box.

Sony Bravia 3 was primarily tested in movie mode, which immediately turned out to be the best choice among the factory settings. It's not a perfect picture, but compared to the eco mode that the TV suggests right out of the box, the difference is clear and positive. In movie mode, one can notice a certain issue: the image appears too warm, which stems from a lack of blue in the white balance. Nevertheless, in SDR content, the final effect can still be considered quite decent and satisfactory for everyday viewing. Much more serious errors emerge in HDR materials. The Color Checker analysis showed significant deviations, and poor brightness management combined with limited colour gamut coverage further exposes the shortcomings of the picture in this mode. All of this makes HDR on the Bravia 3 seem unconvincing and can spoil the impression left by the quite decent SDR content settings. Fortunately, this is not a hopeless situation. Various errors can be somewhat mitigated, and some can even be completely corrected through professional calibration. That's why we decided to check how the TV would perform after such adjustments.

Calibration of the Movie mode yielded really good results, especially regarding SDR content. The white balance was successfully adjusted, giving the image a natural look – it appeared almost reference-level. The colours were well-saturated, and the overall experience of the content improved significantly. Unfortunately, when we switched to HDR materials, the familiar issues from the U7Q model returned. The TV still likes to "do its own thing," as seen from the analysis of the EOTF brightness characteristics – despite calibration, the E8Q still darkened small details in the shadows, while brighter parts of the screen were sometimes excessively boosted. In practice, this means that in darker scenes, some of the smallest details could simply disappear. Although it's worth noting that the entire calibration process brought a lot of good, not everything can be bypassed – even with the use of professional tools. The E8Q can impress with its picture, but in HDR content, its construction limitations become apparent, and it's worth keeping this in mind.

The calibration allowed us to extract significantly more from the ChooseTV 3 than we could have expected at the beginning. Firstly, we managed to correct the deficiency of blue, which previously caused a noticeable warming of the image. After a slight adjustment in the white balance, most of the errors in the Color Checker measurements for SDR content practically disappeared. The shades of white gained a natural quality, and brightness management in gamma stabilised to an almost ideal level, not exceeding the threshold of human eye perception. Therefore, it can be confidently said that in SDR content, after a few tweaks in the settings, ChooseTV 3 performs really remarkably. Much worse, although still decidedly better than before calibration, are HDR contents. The white balance was managed to be sorted out, however, the limitations of the IPS panel are insurmountable. The lack of local dimming means that even the smallest elements can be overexposed, which is immediately noticeable. Colour-wise, the effect has also improved, although it is far from perfect – many errors still exceed the threshold of four, and even five delta E units, which means they remain visible to the human eye. It was already clear earlier that ChooseTV 3 is not a television designed to impress with HDR quality. Nevertheless, it is pleasing that in SDR content, after calibration, the image can look really great, and in this category, the television has positively surprised us.

In the case of older materials of lower quality, gentle smoothing of tonal transitions often comes in handy. The Hisense E8Q, like the U7Q, has a "Smooth and Gradient Picture" feature, but unfortunately, its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. The "Low" setting is nearly invisible in operation, while higher settings blur details instead of improving transitions. The good news is that the feature does not compromise film grain, which means it does not degrade the structure of the image. On the positive side, scaling is commendable. The TV can reasonably convert older content to a higher resolution – without artificially accentuating contours or excessive sharpening. Although it doesn't match the best models in this category, it performs quite well for its class.

Bravia 3 brings more to the Sony TV family than just a shared name. It stands out primarily with its ability to enhance the quality of weaker materials thanks to the processor used. Of course, we won't find the advanced XR chip known from more expensive models here, but even so, it's fair to say that the image in lower resolutions looked surprisingly good. Scaling worked effectively, and most parts of the screen were devoid of the typical excessive edge tearing found in budget constructions. The feature that improves the fluidity of tonal transitions is also noteworthy. At the high setting, it performs quite well, effectively masking gradient imperfections without a significant loss of detail. It does occasionally happen that the algorithm smoothingly blurs elements that should remain sharp – for example, faces – however, in the overall assessment, the effect is beneficial. The best results were achieved precisely at the highest setting, and this option could be recommended to those watching lower quality content.

Similar to the U7Q, the E8Q model is a fast television designed with dynamic content in mind. It supports a 144 Hz refresh rate at 4K resolution, and if for some reason someone is still gaming in Full HD – it can even reach 240 Hz. This is a significant advantage, especially for PC users looking for maximum smoothness. In everyday use, the television performs very well. The “Ultra Motion Smoothness” mode gives us two sliders, allowing you to set the picture to your preference – whether it's more cinematic with the film frame preserved or highly smoothed, almost “TV show-like.” It's good that the manufacturer provides a choice here, instead of imposing one style. On sports material, live broadcasts, or in games – motion looks clean and stable. Sure, it’s not at the OLED level, but for this price range, the E8Q does a really good job.

The fluidity of motion has never been a strong point of televisions equipped with 60 Hz panels, and the Bravia 3 is no exception. Nevertheless, Sony has added something that might appeal to those who are more sensitive to the way images are displayed. This refers to the proprietary motion smoother, Motion Flow, which offers users a lot of adjustment options. With it, you can make the picture smoother, almost theatrical, or stick to a more cinematic style with the characteristic judder, which many people simply associate with a filmic vibe. These functions work for content with lower frame rates, such as movies and series recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second, which is the type of material we encounter on a daily basis. It is precisely in this area that the motion smoother proves to be one of the most important features for everyday use of the television, and here the Bravia 3 performs really well.

Hisense E8Q does not hide its gaming pedigree. Just the specifications reveal that we are dealing with a television that will perform excellently as a gaming screen. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)? It's there. Automatic Game Mode switching (ALLM)? That's there too. Additionally, there's impressive refreshment – 120 Hz in 4K or even 240 Hz in Full HD. Such a set is rare in this price segment. Everything runs smoothly and without major surprises. The only missing element – similar to the U7Q – remains support for HGiG. It's a shame because this feature facilitates adjusting the brightness curve to the capabilities of the specific television, enhancing visual fidelity with the intentions of HDR game developers. Without it, manual tweaking of the settings is necessary, which does not always yield a satisfying result.

Bravia 3 isn't gear for eSports enthusiasts or fans of late-night marathons with a controller in hand. The lack of 120 Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports closes the topic before it even has a chance to develop. This is a TV for the casual gamer who, after work, fires up FIFA or racing games, not for someone who measures every frame in a spreadsheet. Nonetheless, Sony has added a few nice extras to ensure it’s not too bare. ALLM works as it should, automatically switching the TV to game mode (low latency). We even find a simple Game Bar here, which is clear and straightforward. However, the biggest curiosity is the PlayStation Portal app. Thanks to it, you can launch games from your PS5 wirelessly and see them on the TV screen straight away. Sounds great, but it only takes a few minutes to feel significant delays. In our opinion, it’s more of a showcase of capabilities than something that can be used on a daily basis. If someone really wants to play, it’s better to plug the console in with an HDMI cable and forget about wireless issues.