Hisense E8Q vs Sony Bravia 3 50' (VA)

Since the E8Q is a twin of the U7Q, it’s no surprise that the quality of the HDR effect is almost identical. On paper, it looks promising – a peak brightness of 800 nits can impress in many scenes. Fragments like the flashes of light in “The Meg” or shots of the sun in “Life of Pi” can indeed evoke a “wow” effect. But the longer we watch, the more we notice the limitations. The problem arises when small, bright details are supposed to be displayed on a dark background. In such situations, the dimming algorithms try to preserve contrast but end up dimming what should shine the brightest. Instead of dazzling details, we get almost invisible points of light. This is typical for Mini-LED in this price segment and is not surprising – but it’s worth knowing that the HDR effect won't always be fully preserved. Fortunately, the color reproduction offers reasons to be satisfied. A coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut at around 94% is a very good result, and the applied quantum dot layer (more specifically, PFS) does its job – colors are saturated and vibrant, especially with 4K content.

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

However, this does not mean that everything is mediocre. Sony 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 color palette increased to over 91 percent. In everyday use, this means livelier, more saturated colors and a more pleasing image texture. Even if strong lighting effects are lacking, movies and series can look significantly more attractive than in its predecessor, the X75WL.

Testing the Hisense E8Q in Filmmaker mode, we were hoping for a neutral image close to the director's vision. Unfortunately - although on paper it doesn't look bad (the color reproduction errors are not significant), in practice the image feels somewhat unnatural. The reason? Too strong an increase in blue and a lack of red in the white balance. The effect? The scenes look cool, and the white appears slightly bluish. Alongside the U7Q model, we also noticed a specific approach to brightness management here. The brightness reproduction curve for HDR content (EOTF) shows that the TV can significantly dim small, bright elements of the screen to maintain contrast - but sometimes it goes too far. On the other hand, it can excessively brighten larger, very bright parts, which disrupts tonal balance. This is a compromise that may not suit everyone – especially if you want an as faithful image as possible right out of the box.

We primarily tested the Sony Bravia 3 in movie mode, which immediately proved to be the best choice among the factory settings. It's not a perfect picture, but compared to eco mode, which the TV suggests right out of the box, the difference is clear and positive. In movie mode, one can notice a certain problem: the picture seems too warm, which results from a lack of blue in the white balance. Despite this, in SDR content, the final effect can still be considered quite decent and satisfactory for everyday viewing. Much more serious errors appear in HDR materials. The Color Checker analysis showed significant deviations, and poor brightness management, combined with limited color gamut coverage, further exposes the shortcomings of the picture in this mode. All this makes HDR on the Bravia 3 look unconvincing and can spoil the impression left by the quite decent SDR content settings. Fortunately, this is not a hopeless situation. All sorts of errors can be somewhat mitigated, and some can even be completely corrected through professional calibration. That’s why we decided to see how the TV would perform after such adjustments.

The calibration of the Movie mode brought really good results, especially regarding SDR content. The white balance was successfully adjusted, which gave the image a natural look – it appeared almost reference-level. The colors were well-saturated, and the overall perception of the content improved significantly. Unfortunately, when we moved to HDR materials, the well-known problems from the U7Q model returned. The TV still tends to “do things its own way,” which is evident from the analysis of the EOTF brightness characteristic – despite calibration, the E8Q still dimmed small details in the shadows, while the bright areas of the screen could sometimes be excessively boosted. In practice, this means that in darker scenes, some of the tiniest details could simply disappear. Although it must be admitted that the entire calibration process brought a lot of good, not everything can be circumvented – even with the use of professional tools. The E8Q can impress with its picture, but in HDR content, its design limitations become noticeable, and it is worth keeping this in mind.

The calibration allowed us to extract significantly more from the Bravia 3 than we could have expected at the beginning. Most importantly, we managed to address the deficiency of blue, which previously caused a noticeable warming of the image. After a slight adjustment in the white balance, most of the errors in the Color Checker measurements for SDR content practically disappeared. The shades of white gained naturalness, and the brightness management in gamma stabilized to a level nearly ideal, not exceeding the threshold of human eye perception. One can therefore confidently say that in SDR content, after a few adjustments in settings, the Bravia 3 performs really impressively. Much worse, though still definitely better than before calibration, is its performance with HDR content. The white balance has been brought under control, 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. Color-wise, the effect is also improved, although far from perfect – many errors still exceed four, or even five delta E units, meaning they remain visible to the human eye. It was already clear that the Bravia 3 is not a television designed to impress with HDR quality. Nevertheless, it is gratifying that in SDR content, after calibration, the image can look truly great, and in this category, the television surprised us positively.

In the case of older materials with lower quality, a gentle smoothing of tonal transitions is often useful. The Hisense E8Q, like the U7Q, has the "Smooth and Gradient Picture" feature, but unfortunately, its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. The “Low” setting is almost imperceptible in operation, while higher settings simply blur details instead of improving transitions. The good news is that the feature does not compromise the film grain, which allows it to maintain the image structure. On the plus side, the scaling is commendable. The television can fairly sensibly transform older content to a higher resolution—without artificially emphasizing contours or excessive sharpening. Though it does not match the best models in this category, it performs quite well for its class.

Bravia 3 brings something more to the Sony TV family than just a common name. It stands out primarily for its ability to enhance the quality of weaker materials thanks to the processor used. Of course, we won't find the advanced XR chip known from more expensive models here, but still, it must be admitted 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 jaggedness found in budget constructions. The feature that improves the fluidity of tonal transitions is also noteworthy. In the high setting, it works really well, effectively masking gradation imperfections without significant loss of detail. It does happen that the algorithm overly smooths elements that should remain sharp - for example, faces - however, in general, the effect is beneficial. The best results were achieved precisely at the highest setting, and this option could be recommended to people watching lower quality content.

Like the U7Q, the E8Q model is a fast television designed for dynamic content. It supports 144 Hz refresh rates in 4K resolution, and if for some reason someone is still gaming in Full HD, it can achieve even 240 Hz. This is a significant advantage, especially for PC users looking for maximum fluidity. In everyday use, the television performs very well. The "Ultra Motion Smoothness" mode provides us with two sliders, allowing for personalized image settings – whether it’s more cinematic with preserved film frames or heavily smoothed, almost "series-like." It’s good that the manufacturer gives a choice here instead of imposing one style. On sports materials, live broadcasts, or in games – motion appears clean and stable. Sure, it’s not at the level of OLEDs, but for this price range, the E8Q performs really well.

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 who are more sensitive to the way images are displayed. We are talking about the proprietary motion smoother, Motion Flow, which gives users a lot of adjustment options. Thanks to it, the image can become smoother, almost theatrical, or you can stick with a more cinematic style characterized by the jaggedness that many people simply associate with the filmic atmosphere. These features work for content with lower frame rates, such as movies and series recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second, which are the materials we encounter every day. This is where the motion smoother proves to be one of the most important features in everyday use of the television, and here the Bravia 3 performs really well.

The Hisense E8Q does not hide its gaming pedigree. The specification alone reveals that we are dealing with a television that will work great as a gaming screen. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)? Yes. Automatic low latency mode (ALLM)? It's there too. Additionally, there is impressive refreshment – 120 Hz in 4K or even 240 Hz in Full HD. Such a set is rare in this price segment. Everything works smoothly and without major surprises. The only missing element – like in the U7Q – remains support for HGiG. It's a pity, because this feature makes it easier to match the brightness curve to the capabilities of a particular television, improving visual consistency with the intentions of HDR game creators. Without it, one has to manually tweak the settings, which does not always yield a satisfying result.

Bravia 3 is not equipment for e-sports players or fans of late-night marathons with a controller in hand. The lack of 120 Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports closes the topic before it even gets a chance to develop. This is a television for a casual gamer who will play FIFA or racing games after work, not for someone who measures every frame in a spreadsheet. Nevertheless, Sony has added a few nice extras to make it feel less bare. ALLM works as it should, automatically switching the television to game mode (low latency). There's even a simple Game Bar that is clear. However, the biggest curiosity here is the PlayStation Portal app. Thanks to it, you can launch games from PS5 wirelessly and see them immediately on the television screen. It sounds great, but it only takes a few minutes to feel significant lag. In our opinion, it's more of a showcase of capabilities than something you can reliably use every day. If someone really wants to play, it's better to connect the console with an HDMI cable and forget about wireless issues.