Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV vs Hisense U7Q PRO

When it comes to the brightness of the television and how it handles bright elements while watching movies, it is just average—similar to contrast. The average brightness level of the Hisense S7NQ is around 500 nits. This is a value that allows you to feel the beginnings of true HDR, but it is definitely too little to speak of outstanding effects. However, the television deserves praise for color gamut coverage—movies look very colorful and vibrant. With the use of PFS LED (QLED) coating, the device can cover over 90% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and over 72% of the wider BT.2020 gamut. For a television in this class, these are truly very good results.

U7Q PRO is truly a bright television. In synthetic tests, it achieved over 1500 nits, which is an outstanding result for this price range. Such brightness – at least in theory – allows for displaying HDR content as intended by creators, even in more demanding scenes with strong light. In practice, it can be very good, but not always perfect. In bright scenes with a large surface area – such as the test screen with intense sunlight from the movie "Pan" – U7Q PRO makes a huge impression. It can almost blind with light, which is definitely an advantage in the context of HDR content. Unfortunately, this is not always maintainable when a lot of small bright details appear on a dark background. In such moments, local dimming algorithms decide to dim some bright elements to maintain good black levels – and the side effect is that some details simply disappear from the frame. This is a classic compromise in mini-LED televisions – and U7Q PRO is no exception. However, with such a large number of dimming zones, one could expect a somewhat more mature algorithm responsible for controlling them. Fortunately, the overall reception of HDR content is very positive. U7Q PRO is not only bright but also colorful; thanks to the PFS LED (QLED) coating, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is at 95%, and BT.2020 is around 73%.

Let's now check how the Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV performs in color reproduction in the best factory mode, which is Filmmaker. Right from the start, it is evident that it is definitely better than in dynamic or standard mode, but there are still a few things to nitpick. In terms of image quality from the HD signal, the colors are slightly inaccurate – there is a dominance of cooler shades of blue and a lack of red. Because of this, the image appears somewhat too cool.

A similar effect occurs with 4K content, but it is more noticeable there. The excessive exposure of blue tones and the lack of red make the image seem distinctly cold. However, the biggest issue with this television is not the colors themselves but rather the way brightness is managed. The tested unit slightly boosted the brightness compared to the reference value. The result is indeed better visibility of details, but at the cost of significantly brightened black – which makes the entire image seem more "flat."

A similar phenomenon was noticed in the 4K signal – the slightly inflated curve at the beginning of the EOTF graph shows that the television has a tendency to excessively expose certain scenes. Fortunately, this effect can be improved with professional calibration, which we will discuss in the next point.

We tested the U7Q PRO in the best possible picture mode that this model offers – Filmmaker Mode. And indeed, it is this mode that performs best in terms of color reproduction. But that doesn't mean it's perfect. In our test unit, both in SDR and HDR content, the image had a slightly cooled tone. The white balance was shifted towards blue, which made the overall impression feel a bit "cooler." It's not glaring, but definitely noticeable – especially on white backgrounds that, instead of neutral, appeared slightly bluish. Additionally – as we mentioned earlier – the television tends to slightly brighten and oversaturate the image, which is also confirmed by the gamma and EOTF charts. All of this together means that without calibration the image may seem a bit unnatural – too cool, with slightly exaggerated dynamics. That's why we decided to conduct our own calibration – and its effects and charts can be seen below.

The results we achieved after calibrating the Hisense S7NQ are really very good. Thanks to the calibration, we were able to eliminate the excessive exposure of blue tones and the lack of red in the HD signal. A similar, although slightly weaker effect was also achieved with 4K HDR content. Brightness management in HD material has also improved – the television no longer has problems with overall image brightness issues.

However, there are things that cannot be overlooked. The characteristic of the EOTF curve has practically not changed, and the lack of local dimming means that the smallest elements on the screen will always be slightly overexposed. One simply has to accept this when choosing a television with a similar type of backlighting. Nonetheless, the final result is very good and should fully satisfy the vast majority of users.

Thanks to calibration, we managed to tame the white balance in both SDR and HDR content. For SDR materials, the effect is really very good – the image becomes neutral, consistent, and simply pleasant to view. Everything looks as it should.

The performance in HDR is a bit worse. Although the white balance looks correct and overall the image gains in naturalness, unfortunately, delta E errors remain noticeable. Why? Because Hisense does not give us full control over how the U7Q PRO manages brightness in HDR mode. This is where the limitation appears. When we look at the EOTF curve for HDR content, we can clearly see what we mentioned earlier – at the beginning of the graph, there is a noticeable drop, meaning the television dims the smallest sections more than it should. On the other hand, the brightest elements can be illuminated a bit too much. As a result, some details are lost, others are too aggressive, and overall control over brightness does not always align with what we are trying to achieve during calibration.

Does the image look better after calibration? Definitely yes, in terms of color. But when it comes to managing brightness in HDR, we have to accept that the Hisense U7Q PRO will do it its own way.

It is equally important how the television handles tonal transitions on a poorer signal – for example, in older movies, television, or on YouTube. Unfortunately, despite the presence of the "Smooth and Gradient Picture" feature, which was supposedly intended to improve this aspect, its performance is truly lacking. It is barely noticeable that it has any real impact on the visibility of color transitions.

Image scaling also performs poorly. Yes, one can observe that the television tries to "stretch" the quality, but the final effect is far from ideal. The image often appears slightly jagged, which is especially noticeable in the case of tree branches in the background. Additionally, the Hisense S7NQ has a clear tendency to crop the image at lower resolutions, which can cause us to miss captions in the news or finer details of the image.

If someone happens to come across older materials where the issue of color banding appears – Hisense has a solution for that. In the U7Q PRO, we find a feature called "Smooth and Gradient Picture." Set to the "Medium" level, it works really well – it eliminates most of the gradation issues while not smoothing out the entire image, like blur in Photoshop. 😉 Film grain remains, details do not disappear – this is exactly how it should work. Kudos for the implementation!

As for scaling weaker materials, it’s just good. It’s not at the level of the most expensive TVs with advanced upscaling, but older content looks good. There is some mild aliasing at very low resolutions, but that’s completely normal and hard to avoid. On the plus side – even with the oldest materials, there is no overscan effect; the image is not cropped or artificially stretched.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the television performs really well. Although the S7NQ was mainly designed for displaying static elements – such as images – the manufacturer has utilized a panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. As a result, sports or games look really good on it.

For materials that are not recorded at a high frame rate, the manufacturer provided two features that allow you to adjust the picture to your own preferences. "Motion blur reduction" and "motion smoothing" operate on a 10-level scale, allowing you to choose between a more cinematic image – with characteristic frame jumps – and a smooth effect reminiscent of a "soap opera." How to set this up? That's a personal matter – we leave the decision to you.

“Speed” – this word was mentioned most frequently during our tests of the U7Q PRO. The television is equipped with a 165 Hz panel, which is impressive in itself – especially since we are talking about a model in the mid-price range. Of course, PC gamers will benefit the most from its full capabilities, but even during everyday viewing, it is evident that this is a fast and efficient panel. Like most modern televisions, the U7Q PRO can also enhance the smoothness of movies that are primarily shot in 24 frames. In the menu, there is a slider that allows you to adjust the effect to your preferences – from a more cinematic feel, with subtle motion, to stronger smoothing with the characteristic “soap opera effect.”

Even though the S7NQ is an "image" type TV, you can actually play games on it. Really. It has almost everything (except for HGiG mode) that a modern gaming TV needs. The 144 Hz panel and two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports allow for seamless connection of two consoles, such as PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.

The TV supports automatic game mode (ALLM) and frame synchronization (VRR) without any stuttering or issues. It also handles high frame rates at lower resolutions without a hitch. We must commend Hisense for the very attractive Game Bar – it displays all available picture options, and additionally, we have the ability to zoom in on the mini-map or enable a crosshair (because sometimes someone might actually want to "aim" 😉).

The only missing element – as we mentioned earlier – is the lack of a proper implementation of HGiG mode. It is responsible for automatically setting the picture in games as the creators intended. It's a shame because that’s the only thing separating the Hisense S7NQ from being a full-fledged gaming "monster."

The Hisense U7Q PRO is a television that seems almost designed for gamers. It has practically everything you could expect from a gaming screen: variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic mode (ALLM), and as many as four HDMI 2.1b ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. Additionally, there is a clear and quite functional Game Bar, as well as a well-implemented Dolby Vision GAMING mode that works seamlessly with Xbox Series S and X consoles.

Sounds like perfection? Well, almost. Unfortunately, Hisense has yet to implement the HGiG feature, which is the system's limit on tone mapping on the TV's side. This means that when configuring HDR brightness on the console, we do it "by eye" or look for settings in online guides because the screen doesn't show the real range of its brightness. It's a pity - because HGiG makes it easier to match the console to the TV and helps avoid clipping or overly dark scenes in HDR games.

Fortunately, the other elements work very well. Signal delay (input lag) is low, responsiveness is excellent, and the handling of other functions is flawless. And although not everything worked perfectly, the U7Q PRO can still be recommended to gamers without hesitation.