LG QNED80A6A (IPS) vs Hisense A6Q

When it comes to image dynamics and brightness, the QNED80A firmly stands its ground. It is not a “bright beast” – during our measurements, peak luminance oscillated between 350-400 nits. To put it plainly: these values won't allow HDR formats to fully spread their wings. So, do not expect that the glare of the sun or car headlights in films will blind you. However, this television has a powerful ace up its sleeve that salvages the overall picture impression – and that is the colours. LG's engineers have employed an advanced filtration system (technically most likely based on PFS phosphor, marketed as QNED/NanoCell), which does a fantastic job. Thanks to this, despite average brightness, the screen is capable of generating exceptionally saturated and pure hues. Our instruments showed coverage of the wide DCI-P3 cinema colour palette at a level of 93-94%. This is a result that outclasses most standard LCD televisions. In practice, this means that when watching 4K HDR content, the picture – although not very bright – is very plastic, vivid, and delights the eye with its depth of colours.

The Hisense A6Q is unfortunately difficult to recommend for watching HDR content. The main issues are low brightness and rather modest coverage of a wide colour gamut. The measured brightness of around 300 nits simply isn't sufficient for HDR materials to look impressive. In practice, the picture often resembles standard SDR instead of true HDR with clear differences in brightness and dynamics. Additionally, the colours in such materials do not appear as they should. The television does not utilise additional filters such as QLED or PFS LED, and the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space at around 80% means that some colours look rather washed out. Consequently, some scenes in HDR materials lose intensity and spectacle, making it difficult to speak of a full HDR experience.

Here, regardless of whether you encounter the VA or IPS version, the situation is identical. LG engineers once again served us their vision of a "gaming look," which unfortunately has little to do with accuracy. When switched to console mode, the white balance automatically drifts towards very cold regions. The image is dominated by the colour blue, which makes it seem artificially sharpened, and the white is so aggressive that it appears burnt out. This creates an effect we associate with vibrant shop modes – everything is meant to shine and scream "I am digital." While some may appreciate this, we must say plainly: the image is not accurate. If you care about naturalness, we suggest you immediately check the settings and change the colour temperature to a warmer one.

We conducted the tests in the best available mode, namely Filmmaker, however – as is often the case – this does not mean an ideal image straight out of the box. In the case of Hisense A6Q, this mode clearly "swallowed" too much blue in everyday SDR content. In practice, this led to an image with a yellowed white, particularly noticeable on large, bright surfaces. This is not due to poor assumptions of the Filmmaker mode itself or the vision of filmmakers, but rather the factory settings requiring adjustment.
Furthermore, looking at the saturation characteristics and the gamma curve in SDR, as well as EOTF in HDR content, there is a slight tendency to brighten most scenes. As a result, the image often appears brighter than it should, losing a bit of its naturalness. For this reason, we decided to perform a professional calibration to restore the proper colour balance and a more accurate brightness characteristic.

After professional calibration, the QNED80A in the IPS version has changed unrecognisably, especially with "ordinary" content (SDR). We managed to eliminate the greenish tint and calm down the overly bright gamma. In classic television or older games, colour errors (DeltaE) have dropped below the threshold of perception (value < 2). The picture is now coherent, natural, and truly pleasing to the eye. The situation is somewhat more complicated in HDR mode. Although the colours are now in place, the television has a problem with perfectly controlling the brightness (EOTF curve). Due to the limitations of edge lighting and the rather meagre adjustment options provided by LG in this respect, the television's software at times "does what it wants," just to mask the imperfections of black and contrast. However, this is not a cause for concern – despite these technical limitations, the picture after calibration is a class better than what you saw out of the box.

The colours after calibration in the Hisense A6Q should be assessed in two ways, as everything depends on the type of content. In the case of SDR material, the effect is truly very good. In everyday programmes, series, and films, it is difficult to spot any serious problems with colours. The yellow tint has been effectively removed, and the television no longer brightens the entire image. As a result, the ColorChecker test showed errors below Delta 2 values, which are already outstanding results, allowing us to speak of very high image quality in standard content. Unfortunately, the situation looks significantly worse in the case of HDR material. Yes, the white balance has been corrected and the EOTF curve has been improved, but the limitations of the panel itself remain insurmountable. The lack of support for a wide colour gamut means the television still generates quite significant colour errors. Certain colours simply cannot be displayed by the screen, making them appear less saturated than they should be. It's a shame because even a simple PFS or QLED filter would significantly improve the final effect. The conclusion is therefore simple – the A6Q is really very well suited for SDR content after calibration, while watching HDR content on it should still be approached with caution.

It often happens that cheap 4K TVs mercilessly expose the flaws of low-resolution materials. Here, it is different. The QNED80A is great equipment for watching content that is not perfect. The processor does a good job of upscaling the image, making even older recordings look quite decent on a 4K screen – they are consistent and free of digital noise. Interestingly, there is a gradation reduction feature available in the settings. It is very effective in combating the so-called banding in low bitrate materials. Of course, it should be approached with some caution. Due to the lower processing power of the chip (compared to the premium series), turning on this option can sometimes result in unwanted artifacts or blurriness. Despite this risk, we encourage experimentation, as in many cases this feature can save a poor-quality viewing experience.

Upscaling on the Hisense A6Q works quite decently for a television in this price range. Materials of lower resolution are correctly "upscaled" to a higher one, and the image remains clear without artificial edge enhancement or the typical "over-sharpening" found in cheap models. Unfortunately, the digital processing is significantly worse. In practice, it is difficult to speak of any advanced artifact smoothing or problematic tonal transition masking. In heavily compressed films – especially those from YouTube – the television practically struggles with reducing compression blocks and unwanted banding, making the imperfections in the material clearly visible. The A6Q scales the image well, but when it comes to digital processing, it leaves the user alone with the quality of the source.

In terms of motion reproduction, the QNED80A unfortunately has a tough time. The television is based on a display with a refresh rate of 60Hz, which is quite a disappointment for the QNED series in 2025. If you are looking for perfect sharpness during dynamic football matches, you may feel somewhat unsatisfied. A solution in this situation is the TruMotion system. It allows for artificial frame generation, which smooths out the image in films and series. In the menu, you will find a De-Judder slider – we recommend setting it to a value of 2, 3, or 4. This is the "golden mean" that improves fluidity without turning the film into a soap opera.

The motion fluidity of the Hisense A6Q is… well — quite mediocre. It’s a television with a native refresh rate of 60 Hz in 4K, which means that the motion of objects on the screen doesn’t always look perfectly smooth. In dynamic scenes in movies or sports, it’s clear that this isn’t the strongest feature of this model. The situation improves significantly with 1080p content when connecting a console or computer, as the A6Q can operate even at 120 Hz then. This is a big plus, especially for gamers. Nevertheless, the clarity of motion still leaves much to be desired; blurring is noticeable, and the response time of the panel indicates that it is not one of this television’s strong points.

In the gaming section, we won't be pulling the wool over your eyes – the QNED80A is not e-sports equipment. The lack of 120Hz signal support is a fact that must be accepted. However, LG's engineers have done everything possible to maximise the potential of this 60Hz panel, providing gamers with a set of desirable features. First and foremost, the television supports VRR (in the range of 48-60Hz) and ALLM. This means that the image is smooth, not choppy, and the television automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as we pick up the controller. Accessing these options is incredibly simple thanks to the dedicated system overlay – Game Dashboard. It’s also worth appreciating the support for the HGiG format. This is a nod to owners of modern consoles. Although the screen does not support gaming Dolby Vision, HGiG ensures that the television 'understands' how to display games in HDR. As a result, we avoid the problem of blown-out clouds, which is unfortunately a plague on cheaper LCD televisions.

For such an inexpensive television, the Hisense A6Q can truly surprise with what it offers to gamers. It operates in 4K only at 60 Hz, but when a game switches to performance mode and drops to 1080p, the panel can work even at 120 Hz. This is a significant advantage in this price range, as most titles on consoles don't achieve stable 4K at 120 frames per second anyway. In practice, we are realistically playing at 1080p, and here the A6Q provides very enjoyable gaming experiences. On top of that, there are several features usually found in more expensive models: ALLM, VRR, and Dolby Vision Gaming for Xbox Series X/S. Everything is gathered in one place, in a simple and convenient Game Bar, so there's no need to dig through the entire menu. For such an affordable piece of equipment, it's a really solid set for gamers — perhaps not for the most demanding, but certainly spot on for occasional gaming.