Hisense U8NQ vs LG MRGB85B

Hisense U8NQ demonstrates its capabilities in terms of HDR, achieving a luminance chart score exceeding 2000 nits. In the first, third, and fifth scenes where the screen is bathed in light, the television displayed very high brightness that impresses and allows one to fully enjoy the HDR effect. Unfortunately, in the second and fourth scenes, such as those from the film "Sicario 2", the television encounters difficulties in maintaining brightness, resulting in disappointing scores around 250 nits. Although the large number of dimming zones should theoretically help, the algorithm responsible for their control does not always work perfectly — bright, small elements like the moon or helicopter lights are too dim, which detracts from the typical HDR effect. Instead of dazzling brightness, we get a more subdued light that does not realise the full potential of HDR. Nevertheless, the television deserves praise for its very good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 97%. This results in vibrant colours, and most film scenes look really good, significantly enhancing the viewing quality.

LG MRGB85 offers moderate brightness. On test patterns it reaches about 700 nits, which by itself is a decent result. In actual movie scenes the values are lower and most often fall between 400 and 600 nits. Bright, expansive shots perform best. In scenes with a lot of black the TV noticeably limits luminance, trying to maintain the highest possible contrast. The HDR effect is therefore visible, but it is far from the level offered by more advanced Mini-LED designs. Especially in darker parts of films the limitations of edge-lit backlighting and imprecise local dimming become noticeable again.

HDR Colors

A much stronger suit of the MRGB85 is its colors. The TV covers about 95% of the DCI-P3 color space and 74% of BT.2020, allowing HDR material to look vivid and striking. Colors are well saturated, and the difference compared with basic LCD TVs is clearly visible. It is worth noting, however, that this is not a classic RGB backlight, where each of the three primary colors is generated by a separate diode. Red is produced by a PFS phosphor, which expands the palette and yields more saturated red shades. This solution works well for color reproduction, but it does not change the limitations of dimming itself. The LEDs are not driven independently in the way the series name might suggest... so it turns out that Mini RGB is not the same as Mini-LED RGB!

The Filmmaker mode on the Hisense U8NQ television can be described as the most accurate mode available on this model. Despite its accuracy, it has significant errors in reproducing reference images, which we will now describe. In the case of HD content, the white balance shows a clear dominance of red, making the image overly pink and warm. The comparative photo below illustrates how this effect impacts content presentation. The brightness characteristics also leave much to be desired — too low a gamma results in an excessively bright screen, and blacks appear elevated, making the overall image seem cooler than it should be.

In the case of 4K HDR content, the problem is the opposite — the white balance shows too great a dominance of blue, resulting in an artificial appearance and an unnaturally sharp image. All of these deviations for both HD and 4K HDR content can be confirmed using the Colour Checker test, which clearly demonstrates how colours deviate from correct standards.

We tested the TV in Filmmaker Mode, because among the available settings it offered the image closest to the reference. However, the out-of-the-box colour reproduction was not perfect. The largest deviations concerned the white balance, with the image showing too much red and not enough blue, which caused the whole picture to shift noticeably towards warmer tones. Whites took on a slightly yellowish tint, and skin tones and bright parts of the image did not always look natural. It was not a fault that completely ruined the viewing experience, but in direct comparison with the same screen after calibration the difference was readily apparent.

The white balance for both 4K and HD content has been significantly adjusted, which has greatly improved the picture quality. Although some errors are still visible, they are not large enough to heavily affect the perception of the image. A significant improvement can also be noticed in the gamma brightness characteristic — the picture is no longer excessively bright, translating into more natural blacks and better contrast.

However, as with many other Hisense models, there are visible issues with the EOTF curve, which is responsible for managing brightness in high-quality materials. Although at first glance it may seem correct, when the filter is applied to the "EOTF in films" chart, it is evident that the television somewhat "manipulates" 4K content. It is clear that the EOTF curve is significantly below the reference level, leading to an overall dimming of the image compared to the reference. We noticed this effect in previously tested scenes from the films "Pan" and "Billy Lynn." While it is not a serious issue, it is worth noting. It may be of great importance to those seeking a display with the most faithful reproduction of the image. Despite this error, for most, the picture will be more enjoyable. Colours are better represented, and the overall picture quality is significantly improved.

Calibration primarily allowed us to correct the white balance and remove the previously noticeable warm tint. After adjustment the whites stopped leaning towards a yellow cast and the colours became more neutral and natural. The biggest improvement was seen in SDR material, where the picture looked even and much closer to reference. A similar effect was achieved in HDR. After calibration the image became more organised, although not all of the TV's limitations could be eliminated. The greatest reservations still concerned intense reds, which were not always reproduced with sufficient precision. In practice the MRGB85 handles everyday SDR content very well, whereas in more demanding HDR material its limitations remain clearly visible.

In the context of smoothing tonal transitions, the television Hisense U8NQ unfortunately struggles. The “Smooth and Gradient Picture” function does not yield noticeable effects — there is no improvement in any setting, which is disappointing, especially for demanding scenes with a lot of subtle tonal transitions.

Regarding digital processing, or so-called upscaling, the scene with the model is presented correctly — her outline is clear, without significant cropping. Similarly, thin lines, such as tree branches, exhibit slight jaggedness, but overall it looks plastic and soft, which creates a good impression. Unfortunately, there is also an issue with so-called overscan, which causes cropping of the image at the edges. This can be frustrating when watching content like news, where lower information bars may be partially invisible.

Upscaling and digital image processing perform quite well on the LG MRGB85. The Alpha 8 AI 4K Gen7 processor efficiently upscales lower-resolution content, and regardless of source you can also easily disable overscan. The TV also copes well with compression artefacts. The "Smooth Gradation" feature can effectively reduce visible banding and tonal unevenness, but it is not always precise. At higher settings it can also smooth out fine details, for example surface textures. On the plus side, it does not remove film grain. It's safest to use the "Low" or "Medium" setting, which gives the best compromise between artefact reduction and preserving detail.

Hisense U8NQ is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, making it an excellent choice for both sports and gaming. The television will also easily satisfy film enthusiasts, as it features a built-in "Ultra Motion Smoothness" processor that allows you to control the smoothness of the image — you can decide whether you prefer a more "framey" picture or a smoother, theatrical effect. This provides great flexibility in adjusting motion quality to the viewer’s individual preferences.

The LG MRGB85 is equipped with a VA panel with a native 144 Hz refresh rate, so it performs very well in terms of motion handling. The TV easily handles 120 Hz content from consoles and higher refresh rates when connected to a PC. That matters not only for gaming but also when watching sport, where camera movement is noticeably smoother than on basic models with 60 Hz panels. We also have TruMotion, which lets you set the level of motion smoothing yourself. You can keep a more cinematic feel to motion or increase smoothness, which works well for sports broadcasts and TV programmes. The adjustment range is wide, so you can easily tailor the smoothing to your own preferences.

Hisense U8NQ offers everything a gamer may need for comfortable gameplay. The television supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, ensuring an extremely smooth image, particularly in dynamic action games. The VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) feature allows the image to adjust to varying frames per second, eliminating stuttering and tearing, resulting in exceptionally fluid gameplay. Additionally, the television is equipped with an ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically switches the television to gaming mode, minimising input lag. This allows players to enjoy responsive gameplay without the need to manually adjust settings.

Hisense U8NQ also supports Dolby Vision, which is important for gamers who value high image quality, high contrast, and deep colours in games that support this format. The television also has a “Game Bar” — a feature that provides quick access to key settings during gameplay, significantly enhancing user convenience.

However, it is worth noting that despite its rich set of features, the Hisense U8NQ does not offer support for the HGiG standard, which is a popular HDR format in games. This may be disappointing for gamers expecting optimal detail reproduction in HDR scenes. Nevertheless, the other features of the television make the Hisense U8NQ a solid choice for console gaming enthusiasts, offering fluidity, high contrast, and user convenience.

When it comes to gaming, the LG MRGB85 performs by far the best. The manufacturer didn't skimp on features and has essentially brought the full suite of functions from pricier TVs to this model. You get three HDMI 2.1 ports with the full 48 Gbit/s bandwidth. Each supports 4K at 120 Hz from a console, and when connected to a PC also 4K at 144 Hz. So you don't need to worry which port to plug your console or PC into, because they all offer the same capabilities. Also on board are VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium, NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible, ALLM and HGiG. There's also Dolby Vision Gaming, which means in supported games you can use high refresh rates and dynamic HDR simultaneously on Xbox. The package is rounded off by Game Optimizer, a handy in-game menu for gamers. Without leaving the game you can change the picture profile, brighten shadow details or check the current frame rate. In terms of gaming features, the MRGB85 therefore offers almost the same as much more expensive LG models.