Hisense E7Q / E79Q vs Haier M95E

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a television with average brightness, whose peak luminance level is around 350-380 nits. This is an absolute minimum that allows for watching HDR content in a way that is close to the creators' intentions, although without a clear "wow" effect. The results of synthetic tests on white images have been confirmed in practice – in movie scenes, the bright parts of the image are stable and fairly uniform, but it is hard to speak of a true "lighting impact" here. In everyday use, for example, while watching Netflix or YouTube, the HDR effect is acceptable and is completely sufficient for most users. However, it must be stated clearly – this is not the level of top screens, and one should not expect that at this price point. Fortunately, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q has an advantage that allows it to gain quite a few points: it is a PFS LED QLED panel, utilizing an additional phosphor layer that improves color reproduction. The measured range of the DCI-P3 palette is around 92%, which means that the colors in most scenes are vibrant, well-saturated, and pleasing to the eye, especially for this price range.

If there is one category in which the Haier M95E undoubtedly shines, it is the HDR effect, driven by the raw power of the backlighting. This TV cannot be denied that it is a truly bright device. Both in most movie scenes and during our synthetic measurements, the panel easily achieved and often even exceeded the threshold of 1200-1500 nits. This directly translates to the viewing experience – the image has a striking impact and truly allows you to feel the magic of materials recorded in this format. However, one must be aware of a certain compromise. When particularly demanding scenes filled with small, yet intense bright spots appear on the screen, the M95E does not lose its punch nor dims, but it pays a different price for it. A very strong and noticeably distracting halo effect is generated around these bright elements. It is evident here that the algorithms controlling the dimming have been programmed to prioritize brightness and visibility of the smallest details, even if this comes at the cost of flawless black levels. We are not entirely convinced that this is the healthiest approach; however, it must be acknowledged that the overall capabilities of the M95E in this regard are quite substantial. A significant advantage is the fact that we are dealing with a Mini LED QLED construction. The use of a quantum dot layer brings tangible benefits in the form of wide color gamut coverage, which in our tests reached almost 96% of the DCI-P3 color space. This guarantees that the television has full predispositions to display vibrant and appropriately saturated colors.

In Filmmaker mode, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q television was able to really surprise positively. Even after the first measurements, it turned out that the white balance is quite well calibrated, and the only minor deviation was a slight tendency toward a purple hue, which we mentioned earlier. However, this did not significantly affect the overall character of the image – it remained coherent and pleasant to perceive. A much larger problem turned out to be the brightness characteristics (gamma) in SDR content and the EOTF curve in HDR films. The television clearly brightened the image, flattening the contrast and taking away its depth. Gamma values could drop from the reference 2.4 down to about 1.9, making the image appear as if it were covered with a thin, milky layer. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be relatively easily corrected through calibration.

We evaluate every television primarily based on its default cinema mode – in this case "Film" – which theoretically should be the "best" and most accurate right out of the box. Unfortunately, with the Haier M95E, the word "best" is absolutely not synonymous with the word "good." Even during SDR viewing, the picture revealed obvious issues: white balance skewed too much towards red, and excessive, unnatural color saturation led to visible color deviations. Worse still, the M95E also has trouble managing brightness (gamma curve), excessively darkening the entire scene. Such behavior is hard to commend, as it directly causes details in the shadows to blend into a black blob, which are irretrievably lost.

However, the real disaster struck after switching to HDR material while still remaining in "Film" mode. It's hard to guess who came up with such a fantastic idea – or perhaps it was simply a complete oversight of this stage by Haier's engineers – but the image, instead of cinema fidelity, began to resemble the bright "Dynamic" mode. The white balance exposed huge issues with the blue color, which in turn resulted in unnatural sharpening and artificial oversaturation of the entire scene. As if that weren't enough, the EOTF curve characteristics ruthlessly revealed that the television also has fundamental problems with local dimming management in this setting. We haven't calibrated many Haiers in our career, but we know for sure now that the M95E definitely needs it.

The biggest beneficiary of calibration for the Hisense E7Q / E79Q turned out to be the SDR mode without a doubt. It managed to achieve nearly perfect picture quality – most errors in the Color Checker test dropped below a value of 3, and often even below 2, which is a remarkable result for this class of equipment. The greatest improvement came from aligning the brightness characteristic (gamma), making the picture no longer look washed out and regaining its natural depth. In HDR content, colors were also improved, and the purple tint we mentioned earlier was eliminated, but errors in the Color Checker measurements were still noticeable. This is due to the fact that – as is often the case with Hisense televisions – the screen manipulates brightness quite strongly, oversaturating some colors. This was also indicated by the EOTF curve, which was slightly above the reference values, suggesting these minor problems with excessive brightening. Despite this flaw and the construction limitations that arise with HDR content, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q gained a lot after calibration. In everyday use, the television presents a cohesive, natural, and pleasant-to-the-eye picture, and the difference compared to factory settings is truly vast.

The calibration process left us with extremely mixed feelings. On one hand, we noted significant success in the area of colorimetry. Utilizing the options available in the menu, we managed to tame the white balance and bring it down to an acceptable level. As a result, SDR content was finally freed from the annoying red dominance, and the HDR image no longer resembled a vibrant, store demonstration mode. The entire color palette and its saturation were also clearly corrected – perhaps not perfectly, but to the extent that the software allowed, and the difference was visible to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, this is where our list of corrections basically ends, as M95E simply did not allow for more. As we indicated earlier, most settings related to image brightness do not respond to our commands at all. This means we were unable to control its fundamental characteristics in any way – neither the gamma curve nor the EOTF. In practice, the television in SDR content still tends to darken details, which was confirmed by the inflated gamma, merging details in the shadows. On the other hand, the EOTF curve in HDR mode still mercilessly exposed all the previously mentioned issues with chaotic local dimming zone management. And while the calibration process itself yielded quite a lot, removing most of the color issues, ultimately we had to capitulate.

In the case of Hisense E7Q / E79Q, upscaling and digital image processing are not the strongest features of this television. It is clear that the manufacturer opted for simplicity rather than advanced image processing algorithms. The television does not offer any functions for smoothing tonal transitions or systems for improving image clarity, which means that lower resolution materials simply look very raw. On the screen, subtle compression edges can be noticed, which better processors in other models can effectively hide.

During tests of HD materials, we noticed that the E7Q tries to artificially enhance detail, which sometimes works and sometimes has the opposite effect – the image becomes soft, slightly smeared, at times even "watery." There is no aggressive sharpening that ruins naturalness, but there is also no finesse in detailing that better image processors offer.

Well, what happens with those color transitions when lower quality material full of compression artifacts comes on screen? Unfortunately, we have some bad news for you. Although we can find an option in the menu responsible for smoothing tonal transitions in older content, we definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND using it. Its activation causes a barrage of additional, ugly artifacts, noticeably blurring the entire image, and the funniest part – it often doesn’t even remove those unwanted “stairs” it was supposed to fight against. This feature might as well not exist at all.

We can write many more positive things about the overall upscaling, which is the process of raising lower resolutions to the native 4K matrix. The image after upscaling looks really good – it's neither overly jagged nor artificially smoothed. In this particular matter, the M95E simply delivers.

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a television with a 60 Hz screen, so 4K sports fans may feel a slight disappointment – we simply won't see such smooth images here as in more expensive models with higher refresh rates. Fortunately, when it comes to movies, the situation is much better. Cinematic materials recorded at 24 frames per second can be displayed here using a motion smoothing feature, allowing the user to adjust the image to their preferences – more cinematic with a visible frame or smoother, in a theatrical style.

When it comes to motion fluidity and ghosting, our feelings are quite mixed because the M95E is a paradoxical television. Let’s start with the absolute delights: the heart of the device is a 144Hz panel, but what truly impresses is its performance with 120Hz content, which is crucial for sports and console gaming. We must state with full responsibility that Haier has equipped the television with one of the best VA panels currently available on the market when it comes to minimizing ghosting. It is rare to encounter an LCD panel that offers such clean, sharp, and ghost-free motion. In this respect, the M95E is simply phenomenal.

And this is exactly why the unpleasant surprise waiting for us on the software side is so painful. It turns out that this fantastic hardware potential is completely untapped, as the television practically offers no functioning options for improving fluidity. The smoothing systems, which should assist with lower frame rate content, can indeed be found in the Menu but essentially do not respond to our settings. The conclusion is brutally simple: if you intend to watch high fluidity material, you must be sure that the source is transmitting it natively at 120. In every other case, you must resign yourself to a rather raw, choppy image because the M95E will not help smooth it out in any way.

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is truly a successful television for gamers, even though it doesn't support 4K signal at 120 Hz. However, the manufacturer has included a set of features that until recently could only be found in more expensive models. There is ALLM, or automatic switching to low-latency mode, which allows the television to activate game mode with very low input lag. We also have VRR, functioning up to 60 Hz – this may not seem impressive on paper, but in practice, it is fully sufficient, as most games on consoles do not exceed this limit. All these settings can be quickly found in the Game Bar panel, a convenient menu created specifically for gamers. From this level, you can change picture modes, turn on a frame rate counter, or even… a crosshair on the screen – in the Vidaa system humorously named "target point," which is a result of awkward translation by the Chinese manufacturer.

Particularly praiseworthy is the ability to play in 1080p at 120 Hz, which realistically improves the smoothness and responsiveness of the image. This way, if someone wants to play a few titles at a higher refresh rate, they can simply lower the resolution and enjoy significantly smoother motion. Despite the lack of 4K@120Hz, Hisense E7Q / E79Q really performs well as a television for gamers – especially those who are not looking for perfection, but a solid and fast screen for everyday gaming.

When it comes to features for gamers, the Haier M95E presents some really strong arguments. First of all, it is fully ready for the new generation of consoles and powerful PCs. It is equipped with two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, which handle 4K signals at 120Hz effortlessly and even allow for gaming at 144Hz. This is a foundation that guarantees us full utilization of the potential of our equipment. Moreover, the key technologies work flawlessly here. The television accurately detects the console and automatically switches to low latency mode (ALLM), so we don’t have to dig into the settings. The frame synchronization (VRR) also works smoothly, eliminating the annoying tearing of the image when the game's fluidity slightly drops. Considering the remarkably low motion blur of the panel, which we have already mentioned, the M95E creates a truly comfortable and responsive gaming environment. Of course, this is not a perfect package. A dedicated "Game Bar," which would be a handy menu for gamers, would be a nice addition, but in essence, it is just a nice extra. A more serious shortcoming is the lack of support for the HGiG standard, which complicates the ideal HDR configuration on the console and can lead to overexposures. Despite these shortcomings, the basic "gaming package" offered by the M95E is really solid and fully functional.