Hisense U8Q vs Samsung Q6F (IPS)

When it comes to HDR, the Hisense U8Q shows its claws. On paper, meaning in synthetic measurement tests, the TV can "push out" nearly 4000 nits of peak brightness. This is a value that most models can only envy. In practice, this translates to very strong light effects in movies – in some scenes we managed to measure real levels from 1500 to 2000 nits, which is a level usually reserved for the absolute top-tier TVs on the market.

Of course, it's not always so perfect. In small, point-like elements, brightness can drop – a good example is scene number 4 from the movie Sicario 2, where instead of thousands of nits we get about 500. But it's worth noting that the effect doesn't disappear completely – the light is still visible, and the image doesn't appear artificially dimmed. This is a typical issue with Mini LEDs, so it’s hard to consider it a major drawback.

However, a huge plus has to be granted for colour reproduction. Thanks to additional coatings improving colour saturation, the U8Q almost covers the entire DCI-P3 colour space (98%), and for the wider BT.2020 gamut it achieved over 80%. This is an excellent result that makes HDR films look juicy, intense, and just very cinematic.

Unfortunately, the Samsung Q6F is a very dark model. Its peak brightness in HDR does not exceed 250 nits, which is definitely too low to even talk about any "high dynamic range" or HDR effect. In practice, it's better to stick to content in SDR format, which simply looks more predictable on this TV. Another issue is the global dimming technique – in scenes with a lot of black, the TV drastically dims the entire screen to artificially improve the black levels. This results in the image becoming even darker, with brightness sometimes dropping below 100 nits. The only consolation is the QLED technology, but even here it's average. The applied quantum dot layer is not of the highest quality, as the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut does not exceed 90%. Because of this, colours in HDR content may simply appear unsaturated.

We have to admit that when the U8Q arrived in our editorial office, we were slightly surprised… and in a good way. Usually, white balance in televisions immediately requires adjustment – it can be too warm or too cold, which immediately causes strange colour errors. Meanwhile, here the situation looks really good straight out of the box. Of course, we’re talking about our unit, so there’s no guarantee that every model will be tuned as well, but in our case, the first impressions were very positive. The only more noticeable issue was related to how the television manages brightness. Looking at the EOTF chart, it’s clear that the U8Q tends to brighten small elements on the screen. This, in turn, caused what we mentioned earlier – slight overexposure and the impression that the whole scene is a bit too bright. However, this is not a flaw that negates the picture, rather an effect characteristic of this model.

We tested the television in Filmmaker mode, which showed us two completely different sides of this model. Looking at SDR content, we were honestly shocked at how good this television looks straight out of the box. It was really hard to pick on anything here. Despite a slight 'messiness' in white balance and some slightly brightened details in the blacks (which directly stems from the IPS panel construction), colour errors hovered around the '2' level. This is not only a surprisingly good result but rather phenomenal, considering the price of the device.

On the other hand, what the Q6F showed in terms of colours when switched to HDR mode was a very unpleasant surprise. The errors in colour reproduction and palette were so massive that our charts literally ran out of scale. Of course, since Samsung even in such a budget model offers very extensive calibration options, we decided to approach the issue professionally and see what could be done during calibration.

Of course, we wouldn’t be ourselves if we didn’t make adjustments to the white balance. After calibration, we managed to level the SDR signal to near perfection – older films, YouTube content, and classic television looked nearly ideal on the U8Q. It’s truly an impressive level that shows this model can do a lot if given a bit of help. Unfortunately, the situation is different with HDR content. The colours themselves don’t pose much of a problem, but the biggest issue with the U8Q remains the EOTF brightness characteristics. In practice, the television tends to "shoot" above how the image should originally look. It’s this slight "blowout" we noticed earlier in comparisons with the best screens on the market. It’s a bit of a shame that this characteristic can't be completely tamed – if we could maintain equally good brightness control in HDR as we do in SDR, we would be looking at an absolutely reference-level image.

After our calibration, the colours in SDR mode looked even better – the result is truly surprising, as colour errors at a level of "1" are something typically seen in devices costing several thousand dollars. In this respect, the Q6F is really a great screen for everyday television, less demanding series, or movies. Unfortunately, our intervention in HDR mode did not yield a noticeable improvement. The television, due to its weak blacks and low coverage of a wide colour gamut, still has significant issues with proper colour saturation, especially reds. This is an example of a device where HDR primarily exists as a label on the box – for everyday use, we definitely recommend watching content in SDR format.

Hisense U8Q handles lower quality materials quite well. The television can smooth tonal transitions thanks to the “Smooth and Gradient Picture” feature – it works best on the Medium setting. It nicely dims unwanted bands and irregularities in the image, but importantly, it doesn't remove the film grain or fine details.

The upscaling itself is also at a good level. Image from lower resolutions appears smooth and soft, sometimes a bit too much – we get a plastic effect that may not appeal to everyone. Fortunately, this can be easily corrected with the sharpness slider, allowing you to adjust the image to your personal preferences.

Q6F handles upscaling lower resolution content to native 4K very well. The scaling is surprisingly good, even for such an inexpensive QLED model. The only downside is when watching very low-resolution materials like 576p (typical for old DVD players) – the image may appear slightly cropped. This is because the TV does not allow the option to turn off the Overscan feature, which is a common issue with Samsung devices.

The situation is completely different when it comes to digital processing, or the attempt to smooth the image of unwanted artifacts. Here, the TV completely fails. Although in the menu we find a feature called "Noise Reduction," it does not produce any noticeable results regardless of the slider setting. The only thing it seems to do is introduce undesirable errors into the image. Despite its presence in the system, we definitely do not recommend using it.

Hisense U8Q has a panel that can refresh the image up to 165 Hz in 4K resolution. In practice, this will mainly benefit PC gamers, but as they say – better to have it than not 😊. For movies and series, we have a built-in smoother called Ultra Motion Smoothing. In the settings, it can be easily adjusted to your own preferences – whether you want a more ‘cinematic’ frame rate or a smooth, theatrical spectacle.

The 60 Hz panel in the Samsung Q6F is standard in this price range, making it a rather average model for dynamic sports or gaming. However, when it comes to movies, the TV performs quite well thanks to its smoothing feature. The "Motion Vibration Reduction" option allows you to adjust the motion smoothness to your own preferences – from preserving a cinematic feel to full smoothness.

In terms of features, the Hisense U8Q has practically everything one would expect from a modern gaming television. Thanks to the new processor, the manufacturer has managed to implement three HDMI 2.1 ports, so there’s no trouble connecting multiple consoles or a computer. On top of that, it includes all the key technologies – Game Bar with parameter previews, variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic game mode (ALLM)… in a word, a complete set.

But as often happens with Hisense, it’s missing just a bit from perfection. The biggest drawback remains the lack of support for the HGiG format, which allows the TV's brightness to be adjusted to the console and gets the most out of HDR in games. It’s a shame because if this feature were included, we’d have a device practically made for gamers. As it stands, the U8Q remains “only” a very good choice 😉

We won’t beat around the bush – the Q6F is not a television designed with gamers in mind. While it does include features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR frame syncing for consoles, that's pretty much where the list of advantages ends. Beyond these basics, the television offers nothing more that could satisfy those who spend a lot of time in front of a console. It's a real shame that a useful tool like Game Bar, which allows for quick control of game parameters in higher-end Samsung models, is missing here. In terms of gaming, this is an absolutely basic model and it will only suit 'casual' gamers.