Hisense U8Q vs TCL P89K / TCL P8K

When it comes to HDR, the Hisense U8Q shows its claws. On paper, that is, in synthetic measurement tests, the television can achieve 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 films – in some scenes, we managed to measure a real brightness of between 1500 and 2000 nits, which is a level typically reserved for the absolute top tier of televisions on the market.

Of course, it's not always perfect. In small, pinpoint elements, brightness can drop – a good example is scene number 4 from the film Sicario 2, where instead of thousands of nits, we get around 500. But it’s worth noting that the effect does not disappear completely – the light is still visible, and the image does not seem artificially dimmed. This is a typical issue with Mini LEDs, so it's difficult to consider this a major downside.

On the other hand, the colour reproduction is a huge plus. Thanks to additional coatings that enhance colour saturation, the U8Q nearly covers the entire DCI-P3 colour space (98%), and for the wider BT.2020 range, it achieved over 80%. This is an excellent result that makes HDR films look rich, vivid, and simply very cinematic.

The maximum brightness of the TCL P8K is around 300 nits, although in real film scenes, the television maintains more of a level of about 250 nits. These values cannot be considered sufficient to achieve a full HDR effect – they are closer to a solid base for SDR content. Therefore, we will not see spectacular flashes, bursts of light, or moments in which the screen actually "blinds," as is the case with more expensive models. This makes the image somewhat flat, and the differences between light and shadow are more symbolic than realistic. Fortunately, TCL has a few aces up its sleeve that save the overall reception. One of these is the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at around 93–94%. Thanks to an additional QLED layer (PFS LED), the colours gain depth and intensity, clearly surpassing standard LCD panels. As a result, although there is a lack of the typical "wow effect" associated with HDR brightness, the image itself can impress with its saturation and vibrant tones, making film scenes pulse with colours and not appear strongly washed out.

We must admit that when the U8Q arrived at our editorial office, we were slightly surprised… and positively so. Usually, in televisions, the white balance immediately requires adjustment – it can be too warm or too cold, which immediately leads to strange colour mistakes. Meanwhile, here the situation looks really good straight out of the box. Of course, we are talking about our unit, so there is no guarantee that every model will be equally well calibrated, but in our case, the first impressions were very positive. The only more apparent issue concerned the way the television manages brightness. Looking at the EOTF graph, it is 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 entire scene can be a bit too bright. However, this is not a flaw that undermines the picture, rather an effect characteristic of this model.

In Filmmaker mode, the TCL P8K revealed certain imperfections in image reproduction from the outset. We noticed that the television had a tendency to slightly brighten scenes – its gamma was somewhat low, causing the image to appear slightly "washed out", lacking depth, as if the contrast had slipped out of control. This was most evident in HDR content, where the EOTF brightness graph clearly deviated from reference values. As a result, darker areas of the image appeared too gloomy, while brighter areas did not always reach the correct level of luminance. Another noticeable issue was a slight overemphasis on blue – the television stubbornly boosted this colour, causing certain parts of the image, especially skin tones and reds, to have a subtle purple tint. This is not a major flaw, but it is noticeable to a trained eye. Fortunately, most of these errors could be corrected during calibration. You can see the results of this adjustment in the graphs and photos below.

Of course, we wouldn’t be ourselves if we didn’t make adjustments to the white balance. After calibration, we managed to equalise the SDR signal to practically perfection – older films, YouTube content, and classic television looked almost ideal on the U8Q. This is truly an exceptional 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 many problems, but the U8Q’s biggest issue remains the EOTF brightness characteristics. In practice, the television tends to “over-expose” beyond how the image should look in its original form. It’s that slight "bleeding" that 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 fully tamed – if we could maintain equally good control over brightness in HDR as in SDR, we would be dealing with an absolutely reference-quality image.

After calibration, the TCL P8K showed a completely different face. It managed to achieve nearly perfect, even reference-level color reproduction in both SDR and HDR content. The screen no longer had a tendency towards a cool tint, and the white balance was perfectly balanced. The gamma values for SDR material also finally look as they should – the image has the proper depth and no longer appears washed out. The only remark that can still be made about the P8K concerns its "Chinese" traits, known from most TCL models. The TV still likes to manipulate saturation in HDR content in its own way – sometimes slightly boosting it, sometimes smoothing it out, which means the effect is not always fully predictable. Nevertheless, after calibration, the colors look stunning, and their accuracy is truly surprising. In most cases, measurement errors dropped below values of 1-2, which is a result that significantly more expensive models would not be ashamed of.

Hisense U8Q handles lower quality materials quite well. The television can smooth out tonal transitions thanks to the "Smooth and Gradient Picture" feature – it works best when set to Medium. At this setting, it nicely dims unwanted bands and unevenness in the picture, but importantly, it does not remove the film grain or fine details.

The upscaling itself is also at a good level. Images from lower resolutions appear smooth and soft, sometimes even overly so – we get a plastic effect that may not appeal to everyone. Fortunately, this can be easily corrected with the sharpness slider, allowing the picture to be adjusted to personal preferences.

The TCL P8K performs somewhat worse when it comes to the fluidity of tonal transitions in lower-quality materials. The television does offer a function to smooth out unwanted bands; however, its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. Even at the highest setting, it's hard to talk about any real improvement – at times the effect is almost the opposite of what is intended, as the function can introduce small artifacts and unnatural blurring on the screen.

On the other hand, upscaling – that is, scaling the image to 4K resolution – looks significantly better. The P8K handles this task surprisingly well – HD content, and even SD, is enhanced in an aesthetically pleasing manner without excessive loss of sharpness. While there are slight "hard" edges typical of this class of equipment, this can be easily adjusted with the sharpness slider to suit personal preferences. The final effect is more than satisfactory, especially considering the price range in which this model is situated.

Hisense U8Q features a panel that can refresh the image up to 165 Hz in 4K resolution. In practice, this will primarily be utilised by PC gamers, but as the saying goes – it’s better to have it than not 😊. For films and series, we have a built-in smoothness enhancer called Ultra Motion Smoothness. In the settings, it can be easily adjusted to suit personal preferences – whether we want a more “cinematic” frame rate or a smooth, theatrical spectacle.

TCL P8K is one of the cheapest televisions offering a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself is quite an advantage in this price segment. Thanks to the fast panel, this model can confidently be recommended to both sports fans and video gamers – the image is smooth, and the movement of the ball or dynamic actions look natural. However, this does not mean that the P8K is suitable solely for sports. On the contrary – it can also maintain appropriate dynamics in films without introducing the artificial effect of "theatricality", as long as we set the parameters wisely. The television is equipped with a motion smoother called "Motion Clarity", which features two sliders: blur reduction and judder reduction. The first is responsible for smoothing the image by generating additional frames, which increases fluidity, but may cause a slight soap opera effect. The latter, on the other hand, reduces judder and improves sharpness during movement, although it can slightly darken the screen. Properly adjusting these two parameters allows for a really good balance between natural motion and fluidity. It has a 60 Hz refresh rate, but it is hard to say that it is a top-tier panel in terms of response speed. It will perform well for dynamic content, although more demanding users will notice that it is not a screen from the highest class in terms of motion clarity.

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

But as is often the case with Hisense, it fell a bit short of perfection. The biggest drawback remains the lack of support for the HGiG format, which allows the brightness of the television to be adjusted to the console and maximises HDR in games. It’s a shame, because if this element were included, we would have a device practically made for gamers. As it stands, the U8Q remains “only” a very good choice 😉

Although the TCL P8K is a budget television, it cannot be said that it is unsuitable for gaming. On the contrary – it is a screen that can pleasantly surprise any gamer. It features two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing for 4K output at 120 Hz without any issues. For those gaming on a PC, they will also be pleased to know that the television can operate with a refresh rate of up to 240 Hz at a lower resolution – a small thing, but it delights. Additionally, it comes with a full set of gaming features: automatic game mode, Game Bar with quick parameter previews, VRR, HGiG, and support for Dolby Vision in games. All of this makes gaming on the P8K a truly enjoyable experience – the picture is smooth, the response is quick, and the television communicates well with next-generation consoles. The TCL P8K shows that a cheap screen doesn't have to mean giving up on fun. Certainly not in terms of gaming.