LG UR781 vs Hisense E7Q / E79Q

In HDR mode, LG UR781 unfortunately does not impress with its brightness. In tests on five screens, the television achieved only around 200 nits, which is quite a low value for HDR standards. This brightness is similar to levels typical for SDR, causing HDR effects to be insufficiently pronounced, and the image may appear less impressive, especially in dynamic, bright scenes. In HDR mode, it has certain limitations in colour reproduction. This means that colours may not be as intense and rich as in televisions that manage better with a wide colour gamut. In practice, this can make the image less vibrant and dynamic, and HDR effects will not be as spectacular as one might expect. Additionally, UR781 LG has some issues with accurately reproducing colours in HDR mode, resulting in content that may look less vivid.

The Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a television with average brightness, with a peak luminance level of around 350-380 nits. This is an absolute minimum that allows for HDR content to be viewed in a way that is close to the creators' intentions, although without a distinct "wow" effect. Synthetic test results on white screens have been confirmed in practice – in film scenes, the bright parts of the image are stable and quite uniform, but it's hard to speak of a true "light punch." In everyday use, for example, when watching Netflix or YouTube, the HDR effect is acceptable and is perfectly sufficient for most users. However, it must be stated clearly – this is not the level of top-end screens, and one should not expect that in this price range. Fortunately, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q has an advantage that allows it to gain quite a few points: it features a PFS LED QLED panel, utilising an additional phosphor layer that improves colour reproduction. The measured range of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is about 92%, which means that colours in most scenes are vibrant, well-saturated, and pleasant to the eye, particularly for this price bracket.

The colour reproduction in LG UR781 in Filmmaker Mode, which although is the best mode available from the factory settings, is not without its flaws. Firstly, the issue is white balance, where the graph shows dips in blue colour levels. This phenomenon results in a shift of hues towards yellow tones, causing the image to appear warmer than it should. Such deviation means that the colours on the screen are not naturally reproduced, which can be particularly noticeable in scenes with a white or neutral background. This can be confirmed by the Test Color Checker, which showed that some colours "shift" into other shades, meaning that the LG UR781 television does not display colours in accordance with reality. This distortion can affect the visual experience, making movie scenes seem less realistic, and details might be displayed in inappropriate colours, negatively impacting the overall image quality.

In terms of contrast, the analysis of the gamma graph revealed drops to a level of 2.0, whereas the optimal value should be 2.4. This means that the television may display darker parts of the image brighter in certain scenes, which reduces their depth and dynamics. Additionally, on the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness reproduction, an unnatural spike was observed at the beginning. This phenomenon can result in excessive brightness boost in the brightest parts of the image, leading to loss of detail in very bright scenes.

In Filmmaker mode, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q television was truly impressive. After the first measurements, it became clear that the white balance was quite well tuned, with the only minor deviation being a slight tendency towards a purple tone, which we mentioned earlier. However, this did not significantly impact the overall character of the image – it remained coherent and pleasant to view. A much larger issue turned out to be the brightness characteristics (gamma) in SDR content and the EOTF curve in HDR films. The television noticeably brightened the image, flattening the contrast and diminishing its depth. Gamma values could drop from the reference 2.4 to around 1.9, making the image look as if it were covered with a thin, milky layer. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be relatively easily corrected through calibration.

After calibration, the colour representation in SDR content is quite good. The white balance has been effectively improved, resulting in natural, balanced hues across various scenes. The gamma has also been adjusted, providing more precise detail in the shadows and highlights of the image. As a result, the LG UR781 television performs well in everyday use, offering solid colour quality and clear, well-balanced images in SDR mode.

However, the situation is worse for HDR content. The LG UR781 television does not support a wide colour gamut, which limits the depth and richness of colours that HDR can offer. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, resulting in excessive highlighting of details in the bright parts of the image. Unfortunately, this results in significant colour reproduction errors, as confirmed by tests on the Colour Checker. Additionally, the low brightness level of the panel further negatively impacts the quality of HDR images, causing dynamic range effects to be not fully realised, and colours to appear washed out.

Despite some shortcomings in HDR mode, the television has improved significantly after calibration, especially in SDR content. The improvement in white balance and gamma has greatly enhanced image quality, providing a more natural and cohesive colour representation. Compared to its state before calibration, the difference is clear, and the LG UR781 television now offers better performance in everyday use, particularly in the standard dynamic range.

The biggest beneficiary of calibration in the case of the Hisense E7Q / E79Q was undoubtedly the SDR mode. It managed to achieve an almost perfect image – most errors in the Color Checker test dropped below a value of 3, and often even 2, which is an outstanding result for this class of equipment. The greatest improvement came from equalising the brightness characteristic (gamma), which meant the image no longer appeared washed out and regained its natural depth. In HDR content, it was also possible to improve colours and eliminate the purple tint mentioned earlier, but errors in the Color Checker measurements were still noticeable. This is due to the fact that – as is often the case with Hisense televisions – the screen manipulates brightness quite heavily, overemphasising some colours. This was also indicated by the EOTF curve, which was slightly above the reference values, suggesting these minor issues with excessive brightness. Despite this drawback and the design limitations that emerge with HDR content, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q gained quite a lot after calibration. In everyday use, the television presents a consistent, natural, and pleasant image, and the difference compared to the factory settings is enormous.

Now let’s address the function of smoothing tonal transitions and its impact on overall image quality. As illustrated in the photo on the left, this function performs exceptionally mediocrely; we selected the "low" level, which does not improve quality but also does not blur the film grain. There is the option to increase the power of this function, which would soften the gradation; however, one must reckon with the fact that the image will be too softened in some scenes.

On the other hand, regarding image scaling, the television does not perform exceptionally, which can be particularly noticeable with lower resolution content. The LG UR781 television applies a slight, artificial sharpness boost, which makes the image appear sharper, but this primarily results from the overlay of artificial contours. For some users, this can be an advantage, as they prefer more vivid, accentuated details. However, this is a subjective matter—such an effect may not appeal to everyone, especially if they desire a more natural look to the image.

In the case of the Hisense E7Q / E79Q, upscaling and digital image processing are not the strongest aspects of this television. It is evident that the manufacturer has opted more for simplicity rather than advanced image processing algorithms. The television does not offer any features to smooth tonal transitions or systems to improve image clarity, resulting in lower resolution materials looking simply very raw. On the screen, you can notice subtle compression edges that better processors in other models can effectively hide.

During the HD material tests, we noticed that the E7Q tries to artificially enhance detail, which sometimes works, and at other times has the opposite effect – the image becomes soft, slightly blurred, at times even “watery.” There is no aggressive sharpening that ruins naturalness, but there is also no finesse in the detail integration that better image converters offer.

The LG UR781 television offers quite decent smoothness for films, thanks to the "True Motion" option, which allows users to adjust the level of motion smoothing on a scale from 0 to 10. The user can choose whether they want to preserve a more traditional, cinematic effect with subtle judder (lower settings) or prefer a smoother, theatrical image that, although slightly deviating from the cinematic standard, may appeal to many.

In dynamic sports content and games, the LG UR781 television performs worse. The television has a 60Hz panel, which limits its interpolation capabilities to these values; therefore, it can improve fluidity in films but cannot reduce motion blur. Additionally, the lack of support for 120 Hz and BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology means that quick movements of objects become blurred, and the response time of the panel is too long, negatively affecting clarity in fast scenes. As a result, the television may not meet the expectations of gamers and sports fans who are looking for a smooth, clear image without motion blur.

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a television with a 60 Hz screen, so fans of 4K sports may feel a slight disappointment – we simply won’t see such smooth images here as in more expensive models with higher refresh rates. Fortunately, the situation is much better for films. Cinematic materials recorded at 24 frames per second can be displayed here using a motion smoothing feature, allowing the user to tailor the picture to their own preferences – either more cinematic with visible frames or smoother, in a theatrical style.

While gaming on the console, the television LG UR781 offers several important features that can affect the gaming experience, but it also has some limitations. A positive aspect is the presence of ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically optimises picture settings by switching the television LG UR781 into low latency mode, which is beneficial for gamers. The television also supports proper implementation of HGiG, meaning HDR games look as intended by the developers.

Unfortunately, it lacks support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which may result in poorer fluidity of gameplay, particularly in more dynamic games. It also does not support Dolby Vision mode for games, which limits the HDR picture quality in games using this format. The television has a panel with a frequency of 60hz, which means it does not support higher frequencies at other resolutions, such as 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, or 4K@120Hz, which is a significant drawback for gamers expecting smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. It also lacks support for G-Sync technology, which limits image synchronisation in games.

However, a positive aspect is the presence of the Game Bar feature, which allows quick access to settings for gamers and makes it easier to adjust picture parameters during gameplay.

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is truly a successful television for gamers, even though it does not support 4K signal at 120 Hz. The manufacturer, however, has ensured a set of features that until recently could only be found in more expensive models. There is ALLM, meaning automatic switching to low latency mode, allowing the television to activate game mode with very low input lag by itself. We also have VRR, functioning up to 60 Hz – while this may not look impressive on paper, in practice it is fully sufficient, as most games on consoles do not exceed this limit. All these settings can be quickly found in the Game Bar panel, a convenient menu created specifically for gamers. From this interface, one can change picture modes, enable a frame counter, or even... an on-screen reticle – humorously named "target point" in the Vidaa system, which is a result of awkward translation from the Chinese manufacturer.

Special praise should be given to the ability to play in 1080p at 120 Hz, which significantly improves the fluidity and responsiveness of the image. Therefore, if someone wants to play a few titles at a higher refresh rate, they can simply lower the resolution and enjoy much smoother motion. Despite the lack of 4K@120Hz, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q performs really well as a gaming television – especially for those who are not looking for perfection but rather a solid and fast screen for everyday gaming.