Samsung DU8002 (IPS) vs Hisense U6NQ

The HDR effect on the DU8002 television leaves much to be desired. A brightness level of 300 nits cannot provide a true high dynamic range experience, which makes the viewed content resemble more of a standard SDR than impressive HDR. Scenes that should dazzle with brilliance and detail appear muted and lacking in depth. Nevertheless, the television deserves praise for its high coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 92%. This means that colours are vivid and saturated, which may satisfy viewers who prefer rich tones, even if the HDR effect does not fully meet expectations.

Hisense U6NQ offers a stable HDR effect, which is a rarity in TVs with local dimming. On most streaming platforms, in films and series recorded in 4K, the television delivers consistent performance – in every tested scene, regardless of difficulty, the brightness is around 450 nits. This is a pleasant surprise, as in many models of this class, there are notable differences – some scenes are well-lit, while others are heavily dimmed by dimming algorithms. However, the Hisense U6NQ prioritises maintaining higher brightness, which comes at the expense of black levels, as mentioned in the contrast test paragraph.

The HDR effect on the U6NQ is satisfactory, offering a noticeable "burst" of light in bright moments, although it is worth noting the previously mentioned blooming, which may be visible in more challenging scenes. In terms of colours, the television also performs decently – the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette is 89%, and BT.2020 is 71%. Although these are not results that would impress more demanding users, for beginners in the world of high-quality materials, the U6NQ serves as a solid choice. Therefore, it presents an interesting proposition as an "entry-level" television for home cinema.

The DU8002 offers a Filmmaker mode, which is intended to provide an authentic image reproduction in line with the creators' vision. Unfortunately, despite the promising name, the results are far from ideal. The white balance in this mode shows significant drops in blue, leading to a noticeable yellowing of the image, as seen in our comparison photo. Colour Checker tests confirm these errors. As for brightness, the gamma characteristic is too low compared to the reference line of 2.4, resulting in excessive screen brightness. A similar issue occurs with 4K content – the EOTF responsible for brightness in 4K material shows significant increases above the reference line, leading to excessively bright small light elements. As a result, the Filmmaker mode in the DU8002 does not meet expectations and instead of offering high quality, presents an image full of tonal and colour inaccuracies.

Hisense U6NQ in Filmmaker mode offers really decent colour reproduction, although it's worth noting that differences between individual units can be noticeable. The model we tested was pleasantly surprising, especially with HD content in SDR quality. The white balance was correct here, and errors around 3–4 ΔE should be acceptable for the average viewer. The television performed slightly worse with colour reproduction in 4K HDR materials. The dominance of blue shades led to unnatural cool tones on the Colour Checker chart, giving the image a "store-bought" character. Combined with issues in brightness characteristics – gamma and EOTF curve caused some parts of the image to be too dark – the Filmmaker mode loses some of its credibility in this case. Although the factory settings of the tested unit deserve praise, especially in SDR, there were still minor shortcomings that would require correction to fully exploit the capabilities of the television.

Samsung is one of those companies that offers advanced tools for improving picture quality in its televisions, including a 20-point white balance adjustment. Even in the budget model DU8002, with the right adjustments, surprisingly good results can be achieved. The white balance, especially for HD content, is really good – tests on the Colour Checker palette confirm accuracy levels of 2–1.5, which speaks to this television's considerable capabilities in colour reproduction. In 4K content, although not as perfect as in lower quality materials, the overall picture looks significantly better.

The gamma brightness has also been heavily adjusted, meaning the picture is not overly bright and looks more natural. What about the EOTF curve? At first glance, it seems fine, but upon closer inspection, especially in film tests, it is clear that the television, due to its low contrast matrix, struggles. The EOTF also drops below the reference line. Nevertheless, the DU8002 is an example of a budget model where calibration is worth investing in. Although construction flaws, such as the type of backlighting, cannot be completely eliminated, colour accuracy is surprisingly good, especially given its price.

Although the factory settings of the Filmmaker mode on the Hisense U6NQ were quite good, we decided to carry out a calibration to fully assess the capabilities of this model. Only after such an adjustment can one see how the television performs under ideal conditions. In the case of SDR content, which was already at a high level, we managed to further improve the white balance. However, the most significant change came from correcting the brightness characteristics – the gamma was optimised and no longer causes excessive dimming of the image, which improves its naturalness.

For 4K HDR content, the calibration also produced positive effects. We eliminated the blue dominance issue, resulting in a more balanced and natural image. However, managing brightness in HDR materials remains a more complex matter. The EOTF curve, while having problems with dimming the image in the 10–30% brightness range in laboratory conditions, reveals other shortcomings in real scenes. The television tends to excessively brighten the smallest elements on the screen. As a result, this leads to visible halo effects around bright objects. This phenomenon, which we mentioned earlier in the context of contrast and HDR, arises from the technological limitations of the particular model and is often difficult to eliminate.

In short: although the Filmmaker mode with factory settings performed decently, calibration allowed us to extract an even better effect – minor adjustments resulted in a more balanced image, especially in HDR content. For users seeking the highest quality picture, calibration will be a beneficial step.

Smoothing tonal transitions on the DU8002 television leaves a mixed impression. Although the menu features an option for smoothing tonal transitions, in practice it yields no results and may even generate unwanted side effects.

Nevertheless, the television performs excellently with upscaling, or digital image processing. The test pattern with the model looked really good – the image is not excessively jagged, and the overall presentation is decent and pleasant to the eye. This is definitely good news for those planning to watch traditional television on this model.

With high-quality materials, such as 4K, tonal transitions on U6NQ look really good – the colours blend nicely, and the image is coherent. Unfortunately, when we move to content in lower resolutions, the television does not offer any additional features that could improve this aspect. An example is the test with the light bulb, where it is clearly visible that the television has a problem with rendering subtle tonal transitions.

However, digital processing performs quite well. The image looks pliable, is pleasantly soft, and free from excessive banding. Moreover, thanks to the sharpness settings, it can be adjusted according to personal preferences – whether towards a softer or sharper image. Overall, although scaling lower quality materials could be better, the television handles image processing effectively.

The DU8002 with a 60 Hz panel is a television that performs better for watching films than for intense gaming. The motion smoothing feature acts as a fluidizer, smoothing out movement and giving scenes a more fluid appearance, which is helpful for movie screenings. In the context of gaming, this model is more suited for casual entertainment.

Hisense U6NQ offers native 60 Hz refresh rate at 4K resolution, but the manufacturer has added a feature that allows the refresh rate to be increased to 120 Hz, at the cost of reducing the resolution to Full HD. This solution, which we have seen before in TCL televisions, such as the C655 or C655 PRO. This gives the user the choice – higher motion fluidity or full resolution. This is a sensible approach, especially considering that many games on next-generation consoles do not achieve full performance in 4K at 120 Hz.

As for movies, the television is equipped with a motion smoothing feature that allows you to adjust the motion characteristics to your own preferences. This allows for a more cinematic effect or increased fluidity in dynamic scenes. Overall, Hisense U6NQ offers reasonable solutions in terms of motion fluidity that should satisfy both gamers and movie enthusiasts.

DU8002 is a television that is primarily suitable for casual gamers. The 60 Hz panel does not provide the highest motion smoothness, so in dynamic games, there may be a lack of that extra fluidity in the picture. On the plus side, it features ALLM and HGiG functions, which automatically adjust the picture settings for HDR gaming, enhancing the gaming experience. Unfortunately, the television is equipped only with HDMI 2.0 ports, so we will have to forget about more advanced features like VRR or support for 4K at 120 Hz. With this equipment, we will have to settle for less if we expect a full set of gaming features.

Hisense U6NQ offers the option to choose between 4K at 60 Hz and Full HD with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. This solution may appeal to gamers who want to decide what is more important to them – higher resolution or smoothness. The television supports features such as ALLM and VRR, which help in achieving smoother gameplay. A nice addition is the GameBar – an easy-to-use panel that allows you to quickly change picture settings and check statistics. There is also a Dolby Vision Game mode, which operates with low input lag, which is a big plus for console enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it lacks HGiG, which could further enhance HDR quality in games. Nevertheless, the Hisense U6NQ performs quite well as a gaming television, especially for those who play occasionally and do not require the highest refresh rates in 4K. It is a solid choice for less demanding users.