Sony Bravia 3 50' (VA) vs Hisense A6Q

Interestingly, the 50-inch version of the Bravia 3 performs slightly better in terms of brightness than its larger variants. In measurements, it achieved around 370 nits, which still does not compete with top-tier televisions, but is sufficient to suggest a semblance of HDR effect. For some users, this level will be acceptable, while others will view it as typical for SDR content, where striking highlights or strong contrasts are not expected. It must be clearly stated that the Bravia 3 is not a television for those looking to extract the maximum quality from the most challenging film materials.

This does not mean, however, that everything performs averagely. Sony has equipped this model with an additional PFS filter, which works similarly to solutions used in QLED televisions. As a result, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut has increased to over 91 percent. In everyday use, this means more vivid, saturated colours and also a more pleasing image texture. Even though it lacks strong lighting effects, films and series can look significantly more appealing than with its predecessor, the X75WL.

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.

Sony Bravia 3 was primarily tested in film mode, which immediately proved to be the best choice among the factory settings. It is not an ideal picture, but compared to the eco mode that the television offers right out of the box, the difference is clear and it is a positive one. In film mode, one can notice a certain issue: the image appears too warm, which results from the lack of blue in the white balance. Nevertheless, in SDR content, the final effect can still be regarded as quite decent and satisfying for everyday viewing. Much more serious errors occur in HDR materials. The Color Checker analysis showed significant deviations, and poor brightness management, combined with limited colour gamut coverage, further exposes the shortcomings of the image in this mode. All of this means that HDR in the Bravia 3 edition is unconvincing and can spoil the impression left by a quite decent SDR content setup. Fortunately, this is not a hopeless situation. Various errors can be mitigated to some extent, and some can even be completely corrected through professional calibration. Therefore, we decided to check how the television would perform after such adjustments.

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.

Calibration allowed us to extract significantly more from the ChooseTV 3 than we could have expected at first. Firstly, it was possible to address the lack of blue, which had previously caused a noticeable warming of the image. After a slight adjustment to the white balance, most of the errors in the Color Checker measurements for SDR content practically disappeared. The shades of white became more natural, and the brightness management in gamma stabilised to a nearly perfect level, not exceeding the threshold of human eye perception. Therefore, it can confidently be said that in SDR content, after a few adjustments in settings, the ChooseTV 3 performs really brilliantly. Much worse, although still definitely better than before calibration, are the HDR contents. The white balance was brought into order, but the limitations of the IPS panel are insurmountable. The lack of local dimming means that even the smallest elements can be overexposed, which is immediately noticeable. Colour-wise, the effect is also improved, although far from ideal – many errors still exceed the threshold of four, or even five delta E units, meaning they remain visible to the human eye. It was already clear earlier that the ChooseTV 3 is not a television designed to impress with HDR quality. Nonetheless, it is pleasing to note that in SDR content, after calibration, the image can look truly excellent, and in this category, the television positively surprised us.

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.

Bravia 3 brings something more than just a shared name to the Sony television family. It stands out primarily for its ability to enhance the quality of inferior materials thanks to the processor used. Of course, we won't find the advanced XR chip known from more expensive models here, but nevertheless, it's worth noting that the image at lower resolutions looked surprisingly good. The upscaling worked effectively, and most parts of the screen were free from the typical excessive edge tearing characteristic of budget constructions. The feature enhancing the smoothness of tonal transitions is also noteworthy. In the high setting, it performs really well, effectively masking gradation imperfections without significant loss of detail. It does happen, however, that the algorithm overly smooths elements that should remain sharp – for example, faces – but overall, the effect is beneficial. The best results were achieved precisely at the highest setting, and this option could be recommended to those watching lower-quality content.

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.

The fluidity of motion has never been a strong point of televisions equipped with 60 Hz panels, and the Bravia 3 is no exception. Nevertheless, Sony has added something that may appeal to those more sensitive to the way images are displayed. This refers to the proprietary motion smoother, Motion Flow, which offers users a considerable amount of adjustment options. With it, one can make the image smoother, even theatrical, or stick to a more cinematic style with the characteristic judder that many associate with a filmic atmosphere. These functions work with content shot at lower frame rates, such as films and series recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second, which is the kind of material we encounter daily. It is precisely at this point that the motion smoother turns out to be one of the most important features in everyday use of the television, and here the Bravia 3 performs quite well.

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.

Bravia 3 is not a device for e-sports enthusiasts or fans of late-night marathons with a controller in hand. The lack of 120 Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports puts an end to that discussion before it can even begin. This is a television for casual gamers who, after work, will fire up FIFA or racing games, not for someone who measures every frame in a spreadsheet. Nevertheless, Sony has included a few nice extras so that it isn't all so bare. ALLM works as it should, automatically switching the television to game mode (low latency). There's even a simple Game Bar, which is clear and straightforward. However, the biggest curiosity here is the PlayStation Portal app. Thanks to it, you can launch games from the PS5 wirelessly and see them immediately on the television screen. It sounds great, but it only takes a few minutes to feel significant delays. In our opinion, it is more of a showcase of capabilities than something you can use on a daily basis. If someone really wants to play, it is better to connect the console with an HDMI cable and forget about wireless issues.

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.