Sharp GP7 vs Haier K85F

In terms of HDR, Sharp GP7 can pleasantly surprise us. A maximum brightness of around 500 nits is the threshold at which the real benefits of high dynamic range become visible. During our tests, we achieved stable values between 430 and 500 nits, which translated to clearer differentiation of elements in both bright and slightly darker scenes. Additionally, the DCI-P3 colour space coverage was around 95%, allowing for vibrant, visually pleasing colours. Of course, this is not the highest league, but considering this price range – it’s a big plus.

Let’s now turn to one of the hottest topics in the world of televisions, namely the quality of HDR effect. In the case of the Haier K85F model, we must unfortunately make it clear: if you are looking for equipment to watch content in a wide dynamic range, you should avoid this model at all costs. The main problem is its very low peak brightness, which during our tests barely reached 250 nits. To give you a better idea of what that means – such a value is fine for watching standard SDR content, but it is absolutely insufficient to showcase any real benefits of HDR. The image simply lacks the "power" to generate bright, striking highlights. All our measurements and tests on specialist patterns only confirmed this. As if that weren't enough, the television also struggles with colour reproduction. In this budget build, we won't find any technologies to expand the colour palette, such as quantum dot layers (marketed as "QLED"). As a result, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space, which is crucial for HDR materials, is only around 80%. In practice, this means that the image will not only be dark but also devoid of the vibrant, saturated colours that the director wanted to show us.

Upon removing it from the box, in movie mode, GP7 does not perform poorly at all. In HD materials, we noticed slight disturbances in white balance – drops in red and blue, which made the image have a somewhat greenish hue. This is evident, for example, on the faces of characters, which become less three-dimensional. The gamma is somewhat brightened in places, resulting in less deep blacks. In 4K HDR content, a cooler, bluish tone additionally comes to the fore, making the colours appear less natural. On the other hand, looking from the perspective of "straight out of the box," these settings are not bad – only minor adjustments are needed, and with the help of specific tools, we will try to improve them.

Well, how does the television perform with colours straight out of the box, without any interference from our side? The Haier K85F offers a full range of picture modes, such as Dynamic and Eco, but for anyone who wants to watch films according to the creators' intentions, only one really matters: Film mode. That is where we focused our tests, and unfortunately, its name has little to do with reality. The picture in the factory settings is very far from what we could call cinematic fidelity and requires numerous adjustments. Let's start with the white balance, which has a noticeable deficiency of red. In practice, this means that the entire image has a cool, bluish tint. The situation is even worse regarding brightness management, namely the gamma curve (for SDR) and EOTF (for HDR). Their graph resembles a real rollercoaster, which has a disastrous impact on the viewing experience. This results in unnatural dimming of SDR content, causing details in shadows to be lost, and in the case of HDR – excessive brightness, which further exacerbates the issue of clipping. Such a combination, namely too cool white combined with chaotic brightness and excessive blue saturation, results in significant errors in colour reproduction. Our measurements on the specialist ColorChecker chart revealed errors (Delta E) regularly reaching and exceeding values of 8-9. Put simply, errors above the threshold of 3 are already easily noticeable to the naked eye, so such a result means that the colours on the screen are simply heavily distorted.

Calibration really makes a difference in Sharp GP7. After making adjustments, we achieved a better white balance in HD content, and the colours began to appear much more natural, with minimal deviations and without a noticeable dominance of individual hues. In 4K HDR, the change is not as spectacular, but still noticeable. The gamma has been brought to a more neutral level, although there remains an issue with a slight boost in the brightest details on the screen. The lack of control over dynamic tone mapping limits our manoeuvrability, but nonetheless, it is a significant step forward compared to the factory settings.

Well, is there anything that can be done about this picture? Can professional calibration save the situation? The answer is both yes and no. It must be clearly stated that there are certain limitations we cannot overcome. The constraints of the design itself, meaning simply a poor panel and its narrow colour coverage, make it impossible to expect a reasonable HDR effect – we won't mislead you on that. The biggest beneficiary of our adjustments is undoubtedly the SDR mode, and it is indeed for watching such content, after calibration, that this television starts to make sense. We managed to somewhat tame the white balance. Although the television only offers basic 2-point adjustment (rather than precise 20-point), so it's not perfect, we successfully eliminated that unpleasant, cold "chill" in the picture. Above all, however, we noted a significant improvement in brightness management. The gamma curve, which previously resembled a rollercoaster, looks like an almost perfectly straight line after calibration. This is a sign that the television can finally display images without artificially dimming or brightening them. The conclusion is simple: even with such a cheap television, professional adjustment of the settings can achieve a lot and extract the maximum potential from it.

The television is quite capable of scaling lower quality content. Our test patterns were well reproduced, and although there was minimal banding on fine, delicate shapes (for example, thin branches), it still looked satisfactory. Additionally, Sharp GP7 offers a "10-bit colour reproduction" feature to smooth tonal transitions in poor quality materials. It is useful, but at the cost of some details, so we recommend turning it on only when we are truly watching something subpar.

Let's move on to digital processing and image scaling, specifically how the Haier K85F handles lower resolution signals, such as those from standard television. Right from the start, we encounter an extremely annoying and completely incomprehensible issue – overscan that is enabled by default. This means that the television artificially enlarges the image, cropping its edges, and this happens on every source, even 1080p. To see the full frame, you have to dig through the screen settings each time and manually switch the format to "expand to 16:9". It's a detail, but it's devilishly frustrating. The very act of scaling content to 4K resolution can be summed up in one word: acceptable. And that's about it. The image processor does not strip details from the picture, nor does it generate jagged edges or other artifacts. It simply does its job, without any fireworks. It's alright, but nothing more. However, the biggest and most noticeable shortcoming in the digital processing section is the absence of a smooth tonal transition feature. This is an algorithm that could significantly reduce the annoying banding effect we mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not provide such a solution, condemning us to watch the imperfections of the panel and low-quality materials in full view.

With a 60 Hz panel and an average response time, it’s hard to expect miraculous smoothness. In dynamic tests, such as the one with the “little green man”, it’s evident that the picture can stutter and occasionally lose sharpness. For watching films and series, this is acceptable, especially as you can make use of a motion smoother with three levels of adjustment. However, if we are keen on ultra-smooth sports broadcasts or super-responsive gaming, we may feel unsatisfied.

The matrix in the K85F model operates at a native refresh rate of 60 Hz, which right from the start sets certain expectations regarding image fluidity. However, we must admit that we were very positively surprised when we found two separate sliders for motion control in the settings menu: one labelled as "Motion Blur Reduction" and the other "De-Judder". Such generosity in this price segment is an absolute rarity, as typically manufacturers offer at most one shared option. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm waned as quickly as it appeared. It soon became clear why Haier was so "generous" – the slider responsible for motion blur reduction is simply a dummy. Its adjustment brings absolutely no visible effect on the screen, so only one of the two options works.

Let's not kid ourselves – GP7 Sharp is not a television for the most demanding console gamers. Yes, it has ALLM which automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, but it lacks VRR or G-Sync. We also won't find any advanced menu to assist in selecting settings during gameplay. Dolby Vision in games? It's there, but with such a high input lag that it's hard to speak of comfort. If we play occasionally and are not aiming for the highest standards, it can be managed, but fans of technological innovations will be disappointed.

Let's move on to features for gamers, although we must emphasise at the outset that this is more of a proposal for the "casual" ones. The manufacturer boasts in the specifications about the presence of HDMI 2.1 ports, which looks impressive on paper, but in reality, it is largely a marketing ploy. What good is a modern port if the heart of the television is a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz? It physically cannot display a signal at 120 frames per second, even at lower resolutions, which deprives the HDMI 2.1 port of its most significant advantage. It's a shame. (That’s why we mark it as HDMI 2.0 in our tests). Another curious peculiarity is the television's reaction to attempts to calibrate HDR from the console level. Changes to brightness settings cause very unnatural image behaviour, which might suggest an incorrect implementation of the HGiG standard. To be honest, however, one shouldn't worry too much about this, because as we've mentioned numerous times, we simply do not recommend using any HDR content on this screen. However, to avoid being too negative, the Haier K85F also has two significant and unexpected advantages. The first is the presence of ALLM, or Auto Low Latency Mode, which switches the television to low latency mode as soon as it detects a connected console. The second, even bigger surprise, is support for VRR, or Variable Refresh Rate. While it works within a very modest range of 48-60 Hz, its mere presence is commendable. As a result, the image in games can experience less "tearing," which significantly improves the gaming experience.