Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV vs LG QNED86A / QNED85A / QNED87A

When it comes to the brightness of the television and how it handles bright elements while watching films, it is simply average – similar to the case with contrast. The average brightness level of the Hisense S7NQ is around 500 nits. This is a value that allows one to feel the beginnings of true HDR, but it is definitely too little to speak of remarkable effects. However, the television should be praised for its colour gamut coverage – films look very colourful and vibrant. Thanks to the use of PFS LED (QLED) coating, the device is capable of covering over 90% of the DCI-P3 colour palette and over 72% of the wider BT.2020 palette. For a television of this class – these are really very good results.

Against a backdrop of contrast and black, the brightness of the QNED86A and the overall HDR effect perform much better. This is a television that can achieve around 700 nits under the best conditions, so in terms of luminance alone, there is nothing to be ashamed of. As a result, scenes with strong lights, explosions, flashes, or bright parts of the landscape look clear and can make an impression. Interestingly, even in more challenging moments with small, contrasting elements on the screen, the television manages well with their backlighting, and the details are quite visible. The problem arises when there are many dark tones. The lack of effective local dimming causes the black to practically disappear, and instead, we get a grey haze spreading across the entire screen. This kills the sense of depth and makes the image look flat, as if it lacks a cinematic character. In bright animations or colourful family films, this will not be a problem, as vibrant colours and bright light dominate. But in horrors or productions set in darkness, these limitations are very strongly felt. As a comfort, it is worth adding that the QNED86A is actually a QLED television with a PFS LED filter, which gives it very good coverage of a wide colour gamut. Both the DCI-P3 palette and the broader BT.2020 perform really well here. This makes the colours in HDR films saturated, juicy, and with the appropriate depth – even if the black itself disappoints, the colours can save the viewing experience and make the image look attractive.

Let's now check how the Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV performs in colour reproduction in the best factory mode, which is Filmmaker. Right from the start, it is clear that it is decidedly better than in dynamic or standard modes, but there are still a few things to nitpick. Regarding image quality from an HD signal, the colours are slightly inaccurate – there is a dominance of cooler shades of blue and a lack of red. This makes the image appear somewhat too cool.

A similar effect can also be observed with 4K content, but there it is much more noticeable. The excessive exposure of blue tones and the lack of red result in the image appearing distinctly cold. However, the biggest problem with this television is not the colours themselves but the way brightness is managed. The tested unit slightly boosted brightness compared to the reference value. While this results in better visibility of details, it comes at the cost of significantly brightened blacks – causing the entire image to seem more "flat".

A similar phenomenon was noticed in the 4K signal – the slightly elevated curve at the beginning of the EOTF chart shows that the television has a tendency to overexpose certain scenes. Fortunately, this effect can be improved with professional calibration, which we will discuss in the next point.

We primarily tested the QNED86A in Filmmaker mode, which is designed to provide the most faithful picture. Unfortunately, right out of the box, there were quite a few shortcomings. The most noticeable was the poorly tuned white balance – there was a lack of blue, causing the overall image to take on a slightly yellowish, and at times even orange hue. An even bigger problem turned out to be the way the television manages brightness. Due to its technical limitations – specifically, local dimming that only works along the edges of the screen – the QNED86A tends to oversaturate entire scenes. This is where the flattening effect we mentioned earlier comes from. Instead of clear depth and contrast, we get something akin to “boosted brightness,” which can strain the eyes over time.

The results we achieved after calibrating the Hisense S7NQ are really very good. Thanks to the calibration, we managed to eliminate the excessive exposure of blue tones and deficiencies in red with HD signal. A similar, albeit slightly weaker effect was also achieved with 4K HDR content. Managing brightness in HD material has also been improved – the television no longer has issues with brightening the image "across the board."

However, there are things that cannot be bypassed. The characteristic of the EOTF curve has practically not changed, and the lack of local dimming means that the smallest elements on the screen will always be slightly overexposed. One simply has to come to terms with this when choosing a television with a similar type of backlighting. Despite this, the final effect is very good and should fully satisfy the vast majority of users.

What has been saved in the QNED86A6A is undoubtedly the colours. After calibration, the white balance was set with great precision, ensuring that deviations on the Colour Checker palette mostly did not exceed the visibility threshold for the human eye. In other words – the hues finally looked natural, without the strange yellow or orange tones that previously spoiled the perception. Unfortunately, even the best calibration cannot circumvent the structural limitations. The already very modest number of local dimming zones and their unfortunate placement mean that the analysis of the EOTF curve in films still showed clear over-brightening of scenes. The picture tended to flatten, lacking cinematic depth. Fortunately, this effect is not so noticeable in older productions or in SDR content. There, the calibration truly makes a difference and allows one to harness the QNED so that the image can be appealing. However, the specifics of this construction – especially the issues with contrast – cannot be completely bypassed.

Equally important is how the television handles tonal transitions on a poor signal – for example, in older films, television, or on YouTube. Unfortunately, despite the presence of the "Smooth and Gradient Picture" feature, which was supposedly meant to improve this aspect, its performance is truly poor. It's barely noticeable that it has any real impact on the visibility of colour transitions.

The image scaling is also lacking. Yes, it can be observed that the television tries to "enhance" the quality, but the end result is far from ideal. The image often appears slightly jagged, which is particularly noticeable in the example of tree branches in the background. Additionally, the Hisense S7NQ has a clear tendency to crop the image at lower resolutions, causing subtitles in news items or finer details in the image to be missed.

If someone is worried about potential "steps" when blending colours, there is a simple way in the QNED86A to address this. Just activate the feature called Smooth Gradation and set it to a medium level. Then the television really smooths out all those unwanted transitions quite well – especially in older productions – and it does so in a way that film grain doesn't disappear, nor do strange artefacts appear. In other words, it can be used without concern.

The upscaling itself also performs quite well. Of course, there are no miracles here – with lower quality sources, you can notice characteristic ringing. Fortunately, there is a sharpness slider in the menu, and if someone prefers a more "soft" image, it can be quickly adjusted to personal taste.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the television performs remarkably well. Although the S7NQ was designed primarily for displaying static elements – such as images – the manufacturer has implemented a 144 Hz refresh rate matrix. As a result, sports and games look really good on it.

For materials that are not recorded at a high frame rate, the manufacturer has provided two features that allow you to adjust the picture to your own preferences. "Motion blur reduction" and "judder reduction" operate on a 10-point scale, allowing you to choose between a more cinematic image – with characteristic frame jumps – and a smooth effect reminiscent of a "soap opera". How to set this up? That’s a personal matter – we leave the decision to you.

The QNED86A is equipped with a panel boasting a refresh rate of 120 Hz, so it can be said from the outset that it is suitable for both sports and gaming. And indeed, it is – the image appears smooth, and motion blur is not particularly intrusive. IPS panels have always had some issues with this, and here too, slight blurring can sometimes be noticed, especially in very dynamic scenes, but it is not something that ruins the viewing of a match or a fast-paced game. For cinema and sports fans, LG has included the traditional TruMotion smoothness enhancer. In the menu, we have two sliders – one for movies (De-Judder) and the other for sports (De-Blur). The first adds missing frames and can be adjusted to modify the character of motion – from raw, cinematic to a smoother, more ‘theatrical’ look. The second improves sharpness during dynamic actions, so it's worth turning it up a bit if you watch a lot of sports.

Although the S7NQ is a "picture" type television, it can indeed be used for gaming. Really. Here you can find almost everything (except for the HGiG mode) that a modern gaming television needs. The 144 Hz panel and two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports allow for the hassle-free connection of two consoles, such as the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.

The television supports Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), with no stuttering or issues. It also handles displaying high frame rates at lower resolutions without any trouble. Hisense deserves praise for a very attractive Game Bar – it displays all available picture options, and additionally, we have the ability to enlarge the minimap or turn on the crosshair (because sometimes someone might actually want to "aim" 😉).

The only missing element – as we mentioned earlier – is the lack of a proper implementation of the HGiG mode. It is specifically responsible for automatically adjusting the picture in games as the creators intended. It's a shame, because that’s the only thing preventing the Hisense S7NQ from being a full-fledged gaming "beast".

In terms of gaming, the LG QNED86A6A is a complete tool. It features four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, which means that whether you connect a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or a powerful PC, everything will run in full 4K at 120 Hz with support for all functions. This is a significant advantage, as some competitors still only offer two such ports, which can be troublesome with multiple devices. It also includes VRR, or variable refresh rate, which eliminates screen tearing, as well as ALLM, which automatically activates game mode when the console is turned on. Dolby Vision Gaming is also included, along with proper implementation of the HGiG format, so titles that support these formats look more vivid and detailed. On top of all this, there is the Game Optimizer – a sort of control centre for gamers. From this interface, you can view picture parameters in real-time, quickly change modes, activate additional features, or adjust image settings to your personal preferences. The LG QNED86A6A essentially has everything one could expect from a modern gaming television.