Hisense E7NQ PRO vs TCL A300W NXTVision

Based on the luminance chart, which indicates around 550 nits, it can be considered that Hisense E7NQ PRO theoretically has the potential to somewhat "enchant" us with its HDR image. While testing various scenes, we noticed that the TV continually tries to balance maintaining adequate brightness and preserving the deepest blacks. In favourable conditions – for instance, during a scene from "The Meg," where the screen is flooded with bright light – this brightness impresses. At such moments, we feel that HDR actually adds that "something" to the image. Unfortunately, when more challenging shots appear on the screen with small, bright elements against a dark background, the situation looks much worse. The brightness then drops to 200-300 nits, too little to distinguish HDR from regular SDR.

It's clear that the TV is trying, but hardware limitations – primarily the small number of local dimming zones – prevent it from fully spreading its wings. The result can therefore be quite uneven and just as average as in the contrast tests. However, it deserves credit for the impressive coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 97%. This allows the TV to showcase a wide range of colours, which, in the right scenes, can give us at least a taste of the true HDR effect. It’s a pity that the overall experience isn’t complemented by better brightness and contrast.

When it comes to brightness, the TCL A300W is definitely the darkest TV among all frame-style models, such as Samsung The Frame or Hisense CanvasTV – and unfortunately, this is immediately noticeable. In our measurements, the peak luminance reached only about 400 nits, and on test film screens, this value dropped to 350 nits. This is definitely too little to feel the true "magic" of bright HDR effects. As a consolation – the TV is equipped with a PFS LED coating (which is something like QLED), which provides very good coverage of a wide color palette, both DCI-P3 and BT.2020. Additionally, there is full support for all popular HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision – which somewhat compensates for the shortcomings in brightness and helps improve the overall perception of materials in this quality.

When we took our copy of Hisense E7NQ PRO out of the box, we immediately started checking the available picture modes. Among them, the Filmmaker mode seemed the most promising, although it was not without flaws. With standard SDR content, we noticed a clear tendency for an excessive boost in red, which caused the image to appear unnaturally warm. This is particularly evident in the comparison photo included below. On the other hand, when we switched to HDR content, the situation went in the opposite direction. This time blue was dominant, and red was scarce, giving a cool effect, at times even a somewhat "store-like" impression — although not as drastic as in those modes that are actually intended for displaying in exhibitions. As a result, in our colour reproduction tests, these imbalances in colour balance led to significant errors.

Additionally, the TV had issues with rendering brightness characteristics. At lower resolutions, it clearly brightened the darkest elements of the image, and with HDR content, the brightness curve (eotf) did not want to align as it should. Initially, the TV excessively darkened the smallest details and then overly brightened larger areas. Fortunately, the E7NQ PRO provides us with plenty of calibration tools, so knowing the potential, we decided to take matters into our own hands and try to set it up to eliminate these issues.

TCL A300 offers several picture modes, but without a doubt, the movie mode performs the best. Unfortunately, although it is the best choice among the available options, it is not free from errors. Both in HD and HDR content, the image has a noticeably too warm tint – leaning slightly towards pink, which is particularly noticeable in snowy scenes. Instead of pure white, we get a pinkish hue that spoils the natural perception of colors.

The brightness management doesn't perform well either. For older HD materials, the image often seems too dark – as confirmed by the inflated gamma value. Conversely, with HDR content, the effect is reversed – the image is overly brightened, which we observed in scenes from the movie Pan. This lack of consistency also affects color reproduction accuracy – a test with the ColorChecker showed that many samples deviate significantly from the reference values.

Fortunately, TCL allows manual adjustment of the settings, so we decided to check how the television would perform after our professional calibration. The effects of this correction are described below.

Thanks to the tools available in E7NQ PRO, we managed to squeeze a quite decent image out of it, especially in the case of lower-quality content. After fine-tuning the white balance of the SDR materials, the colours look much more natural, and what we see on the screen seems closer to the vision the manufacturer intended to present. Additionally, we improved the brightness characteristic (Gamma), causing the TV to no longer have a tendency to over-brighten, and everything looks significantly better than before our intervention.

In HDR materials, we also managed to achieve some results, although it is not as rosy here. Indeed, the white balance has approached an acceptable level, but the problem lies elsewhere. It concerns the EOTF curve, which is how the TV manages the brightness and tonality of the image. At first glance, it might seem that the biggest issue pertains only to the mid-tones of the image, which are overly illuminated. However, after more detailed testing and enabling filters to display the EOTF curve, it is evident that the receiver tends to brighten the entire screen. This appears to be a limitation arising from the small number of local dimming zones and generally modest brightness management capabilities. Such hardware limitations are simply insurmountable. After our calibration, however, the image is noticeably better than at the start. One just needs to be aware that in terms of contrast and brightness management, this model has its limits, which even good calibration cannot fully overcome.

After our professional calibration, the TCL A300 literally got a new lease on life. The image is no longer too warm, and the colors finally look the way they should – which was confirmed by the ColorChecker test, where the color samples finally started hitting their marks, at least to some reasonable degree. It was also possible to partially correct the brightness management – the image is now more balanced and less "wobbly" between different types of content. Of course, certain limitations cannot be overcome – a slightly noticeable blooming effect still occurs, but that's a characteristic of the technology, not something that can be eliminated even after professional settings.

Generally: after calibration, the A300 looks significantly better and gains a completely new quality.

Unfortunately, the "smooth and gradient image" feature in Hisense E7NQ PRO does not impress when it comes to smoothing tonal transitions in lower-quality materials. At the lowest setting, the change is hard to notice—it's more of a cosmetic improvement. Switching to "Medium" mode already provides a noticeable effect, but it still isn't anything special. In addition, the television starts to excessively interfere with other image elements, which can look unnatural.

Image scaling is also rather average. On the test screen, where a portrait of a model and text are displayed, slightly jagged edges can be seen, which makes the overall presentation less smooth and aesthetically pleasing than we would expect in this class of device. It's simply hard to speak of truly effective enhancement of lower resolution quality here.

TCL A300 handles tonal transitions in high-quality films very well, but the question arises – how does it perform with weaker materials? The television is equipped with a tonal transition smoothing feature, but its effectiveness can be described in one word: "random." In one scene it may work and improve the gradation, and when turned off… the effect remains the same. There is a lack of consistency and predictability.

Image scaling is also not one of the A300's strong suits. In the test pattern, the main character actually looked better than on the raw signal, but with thin lines – like fonts or background details – there was noticeable jaggedness and aliasing. On the plus side, the television does not cut off the image and has no issues with overscan, but the overall quality of scaling is rather average.

Thanks to its 144 Hz panel, the E7NQ PRO performs excellently with almost every type of content. Whether we are watching fast-paced matches, dynamic games, or action movies, the fluidity of motion leaves a good impression. For movies, the manufacturer has equipped the TV with two key tools: "motion blur reduction" and "judder reduction." Each of these functions can be adjusted on a scale from 1 to 10.

At lower values, the processing is subtle, barely noticeable, and gently smooths motion without ruining the cinematic character of the image. The higher we move up the scale, the more clearly the TV intervenes in the presented material, smoothing motion more forcefully, thus minimizing any stutter or micro-cuts. On the other hand, the highest settings may resemble the so-called "soap opera effect," which makes the image look overly smooth, losing some of its cinematic atmosphere. However, with such a scale, we can find the golden mean, adjusting the fluidity of motion to our own preferences.

The TCL A300 is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, which should immediately satisfy practically everyone – both gamers and sports fans. The motion is smooth, and the picture is clear even in fast scenes. Additionally, the television offers a motion enhancement feature called "Motion," where we can find two sliders on a 10-point scale. These allow for adjusting the effect to personal preferences – from a classic, cinematic look with visible frames to a very smooth (though already unnatural) image reminiscent of a soap opera effect. Thanks to this, everyone can find a setting that suits them.

If you enjoy switching on your console and immersing yourself in games for hours, the E7NQ PRO is sure to make a strong impression. With its 144Hz refresh rate, gameplay feels impressively smooth, while support for HDMI 2.1 and VRR prevents screen tearing, even during the most action-packed moments. Additionally, ALLM automatically applies the lowest latency as soon as you switch to your console, so there’s no need to tweak the settings manually.

A major plus is the ability to play games in Dolby Vision, enhancing colours and contrast for a more vibrant experience. Hisense has also included a user-friendly game bar, allowing you to monitor key performance stats and adjust settings without leaving the game. The only real drawback is the absence of HGIG support. While not essential, some gamers may miss it if they’re looking for the most accurate representation of a game’s intended visuals. That said, in practice, the E7NQ PRO delivers an excellent gaming experience that’s smooth, responsive, and enjoyable.

TCL A300 is a television designed not only to transport us to a digital art museum but also to a full-fledged gaming world. It offers practically everything you would expect from gear for gamers: two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth, 144 Hz refresh rate, VRR support, and ALLM.

The correct implementation of the HGIG mode is also a plus – something that competing Hisense sometimes struggles with. The television easily handles lower resolutions (e.g., Full HD) while maintaining high refresh rates, which will be appreciated by owners of older consoles or PCs.

In addition, there’s an attractive and clear GameBar that facilitates quick access to settings for gamers. The A300 is truly well-prepared for gaming at the highest level – it's just a shame that issues with motion blur slightly tarnish its overall image as a gaming device.