Hisense A7NQ vs Samsung Q7F

We checked how the Hisense A7NQ performs with HDR, and there are no surprises here. The luminance chart showed a maximum brightness of 370 nits. The result? Exactly what one could expect – average. At a brightness of around 350 nits, HDR does not stand out particularly compared to SDR. A subtle difference can be seen in more brightly lit scenes, but it’s not a jaw-dropping effect. As for the coverage of the wide colour gamut, the result was 92% for DCI-P3 and 70.2% for BT.2020. These are decent values for a TV in this class that uses a PFS coating – the same one that is sometimes promoted as QLED. The colours look good, but let’s not expect anything that competes with the best screens on the market. HDR on the Hisense A7NQ is more of an addition than a "game changer." For those looking for solid picture quality on a moderate budget – absolutely acceptable. However, if we expect full HDR capabilities, it is worth looking at higher-end models.

Unfortunately, the Samsung Q7F is not one of the bright televisions, and this directly affects the quality of HDR movies. The peak brightness of the panel is only about 250 nits, which is definitely too low to speak of true cinematic experiences. In practice, the image in HDR content does not differ significantly from classic SDR, making it hard to talk about any "wow effect" that usually accompanies us while watching such films. During testing movie scenes, the image simply looked dim, and brightness almost invariably hovered around the mentioned 250 nits. The worst performance was observed in shots with small, intensely glowing elements – the applied global dimming technique reacted very aggressively, dimming the entire screen to maintain the black effect. On the plus side, it is worth noting the presence of a QLED coating that expands the color palette. As a budget QLED model, the Q7F performs quite decently here: its DCI-P3 color coverage is about 93%, and BT.2020 reaches 70%. This means that colors, despite the low brightness, can look quite vivid and attractive.

When testing the Hisense A7NQ in Filmmaker mode, we hoped for compliance with the manufacturer's assumptions, but unfortunately, the reality looks different. The main issue, as with most TVs, is the white balance. In the case of the A7NQ, we noticed a clear dominance of blue, which affected both lower-quality materials and 4K HDR content. The Color Checker test results confirm this, and the comparison images speak for themselves – the main actress appears cool and pale in "factory" mode. It looks as if she has been stripped of life.

Regarding brightness characteristics, both gamma and the EOTF curve show that the image is excessively bright. As a result, everything seems flat, lacking depth and contrast. This state of affairs definitely does not work in favour of the A7NQ and makes the viewing experience in factory mode leave much to be desired. If we expect natural colour reproduction and appropriate image depth, the A7NQ in Filmmaker mode is unlikely to impress us. It is a TV that requires significant adjustment to extract its potential.

The factory color reproduction in the Samsung Q7F definitely isn't one of its strong points. In Filmmaker mode, which theoretically should be closest to neutral, the white balance issue is immediately noticeable. There's too much red on the screen, while blue is noticeably lacking. The effects of this are very easy to see – white, instead of being neutral, takes on warm, almost slightly orange tones. Over time, this makes the entire image look somewhat unnatural, and bright areas of the scene can seem unrealistic. The problems become even more apparent in HDR content. The graphs show that the TV has significant errors in the Color Checker palette, which translates to visible inaccuracies in the real image. In practice, this means that colors are not presented as they should be. The Q7F also heavily manipulates brightness; darker elements are overly boosted, causing them to lose their cinematic feel, while bright parts can appear dimmed. As a result, the image seems flattened, and instead of helping to bring out details, contrast only highlights its own limitations. This is particularly frustrating in HDR materials, as every detail matters there. In scenes where a subtle play of light and shadow should be felt, the Q7F either overdoes the brightening or, conversely, suppresses elements that were meant to draw the eye. This causes the image to lose its depth, and instead of cinematic realism, we get more of a simplification effect.

The Hisense A7NQ offers several tools that allow you to improve image quality, so we decided to take matters into our own hands and "dig around" in the settings a bit. Thanks to professional tools and measurements, we managed to correct the white balance, eliminating the excessive dominance of blue colour in both HD and 4K materials. This is a significant step forward, as in the Color Checker test, colour reproduction errors in lower-quality content dropped to a much more acceptable level. Unfortunately, 4K materials are still far from ideal – colour distortions are considerable and stem from the limitations of the television.

As for gamma, we managed to significantly reduce the excessive brightness of the image set after setting it to the correct level. However, the issue with brightness characteristics in 4K content remains unresolved – the EOTF curve still shows excessive illumination of the entire screen. It is possible that a proper implementation of dynamic tone mapping could help here, but as we mentioned earlier, this feature on the Hisense A7NQ works rather poorly instead of being helpful. Nevertheless, calibration significantly improved the overall image perception. The director's vision is now much better conveyed than in the factory settings, which more demanding viewers will certainly appreciate.

After professional calibration, we managed to bring the Q7F in order – at least in terms of SDR content. The picture in this mode looks really good: the white balance has been set correctly, the colors appear natural, and errors in the color palette have dropped to values that are practically invisible to the eye. The gamma behaves excellently, and the only minor drawback is a slight brightening of smaller elements, which results from the lack of local dimming. For everyday TV watching or standard quality films, the Q7F performs surprisingly well.

It was much more difficult to tame HDR content. Despite adjusting the white balance, the television continues to manipulate brightness significantly, causing scenes to sometimes look unnatural – what was meant to be subtly darker can end up being overly brightened, and bright parts of the image sometimes appear dull. The final effect is better than in the factory settings, but it is evident that the design limitations of the Q7F do not allow for fully utilizing the potential of HDR materials.

The Hisense A7NQ impresses with smooth tonal transitions in 4K materials, but unfortunately, there is no feature here that would improve this aspect in older materials of lower quality. In such cases, colour merging becomes more visible, which can somewhat spoil the viewing experience, especially in scenes with a lot of gradients.

When it comes to upscaling, the TV performs surprisingly well. The image is clearly improved, although it does come with some compromises. One can notice that the TV adds a bit of artificial sharpness, and elements in the background, such as branches, tend to exhibit slight "jagginess." These are details, however, that will mainly catch the eye of those who pay attention to such nuances.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the Q7F is a bit of a sine wave. On one hand, we have really nice upscaling – weaker sources look better than one might expect. The image becomes clearer, sharper, and even older movies or terrestrial TV hold up well. Samsung has been strong in this area for years, and the Q7F confirms that. On the other hand… things start to get tricky. The TV has a problem with overscan – part of the image is simply cut off, and it looks rather unrefined. Additionally, we were let down by a feature called "noise reduction," which should improve the smoothness of tonal transitions in weaker materials. In other Samsungs, it works relatively well, but here it practically makes no difference – the banding in gradients remains. It's a bit disappointing because we could have expected more from a model that is aimed at users looking for a display for SDR content.

The Hisense A7NQ is equipped with a 60 Hz matrix, meaning dynamic scenes – for example, in sports or games – are somewhat average here. This is standard for this level of TV, but it must be admitted that watching more intense, fast-moving content can leave a lot to be desired. However, when it comes to movies, the TV offers a motion smoothing feature that operates on a 10-level scale. The "motion blur reduction" option allows you to adjust the fluidity of the image to your own preferences. At the lowest setting, you get a natural film frame rate, which will please cinema purists. On the other hand, the maximum setting provides a very smooth, theatrical image that may appeal to those who prefer a more "smoothed out" motion.

Motion blur and motion fluidity in the Q7F is probably the most budget-conscious element of this TV. The 60 Hz panel is noticeable, with blur being quite evident, especially in dynamic scenes, and it's rather difficult to consider this model as equipment designed for watching sports or playing fast-paced games. In tests with the little green man, there was a long tail, and the ball in a football match would leave trails behind it.

On the plus side, the presence of motion smoothing is commendable. It really makes a difference in movies - especially since most materials are recorded at 24 frames. Here we can decide for ourselves whether we prefer a more "cinematic" image, with the slight jerkiness characteristic of cinema, or a smoother, more "television-like" one. This actually works quite well and helps improve the viewing comfort for series or movies.

Hisense A7NQ is a device that can pleasantly surprise gamers, although it is not without its faults. The fact that we have a 60 Hz panel immediately suggests that the TV is not designed for the most demanding gaming scenarios. The motion blur we described earlier can also be a hindrance, especially in dynamic games.

However, there are several things worth praising. The TV supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which are not always standard in this price range. The biggest surprise, however, is that the A7NQ can display images at 120 Hz – although only in Full HD resolution, it is still a significant nod to gamers. This allows a choice between smoothness and resolution, which is not obvious in TVs at this price point.

A nice addition is the Game Bar, which is clear and practical – all the main features are at hand without digging through the settings. However, there is a lack of support for HGiG, which may be disappointing for gamers looking for perfect HDR in games.

Features for gamers in the Samsung Q7F is a topic that evokes quite a bit of mixed emotions. On one hand – no sensible person expected miracles here, after all, it's a 60 Hz television, and it was clear from the beginning that it wouldn't be a device to extract the maximum from a console or PC. On the other hand, since the manufacturer promised specific solutions in promotional materials, it's natural that we wanted to see them in practice. At the start, it's quite decent. The automatic game mode (ALLM) works, so there's no need to manually fiddle with the settings; the console switches the TV to low latency mode by itself. Additionally, we have the Game Bar, which looks impressive and allows you to check a few basic parameters without leaving the game. And this is where the good news ends.

The biggest problem with the Q7F is VRR, or rather its absence. Indeed, a relevant icon appears in the menu, and you can even see it in the Game Bar, but throughout the entire test, the function remained dead and could not be activated in any way. The issue with HGiG is even more painful; this option was actually available at the beginning, but after a software update, it disappeared completely, which is simply unprofessional. Therefore, the Q7F is only suitable for absolute basics. Sure, you can turn on the console, play more mellow titles, and enjoy low input lag, but if someone is counting on more advanced features that the manufacturer promised, they will be disappointed. This is not a television intended for gaming, and it's better to be aware of this before purchasing.