Hisense U7NQ vs Hisense E8Q

The Hisense U7NQ 65 television demonstrated significant capabilities on the luminance chart, exceeding the 1000-nit barrier and achieving very high brightness results without issue in the first, third, and fifth test scenes. However, as before, in the second and fourth test scenes, for example from the film Sicario 2, there are significant problems with maintaining brightness, and the results around 200 nits are very disappointing. Despite a large number of dimming zones, the algorithm in the television responsible for controlling these zones is unable to react appropriately — in this case, it significantly dims small elements like the moon or the light from a helicopter. The bright light that should blind us is too dim to be called an HDR effect. Nevertheless, it is worth praising the television for its high coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 96%, which allows it to accurately reproduce most film scenes.

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.

The Chinese manufacturer offers various picture settings with its televisions, but the best mode in this model is undoubtedly the Filmmaker Mode. Despite its name, this mode has its issues: the white balance, although roughly correct, is characterized by a strong dominance of warm tones due to the kick of red colour, both in 4K and HD materials. The Colour Checker test confirms these errors — deviations in samples are visible in inappropriate shades. As for the brightness characteristics, the gamma responsible for HD materials shows values below 2.4, leading to some brightening of the screen. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve shows the television's problems with displaying small light elements, as confirmed by the previously described paragraphs.

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.

Hisense televisions offer many tools for image correction, allowing users to adjust settings to their preferences. Therefore, we decided to utilize these capabilities to bring the image quality closer to reference standards. In the case of white balance, we managed to eliminate the dominance of red, resulting in more neutral colours, which allowed for a more realistic image in both 4K and HD materials. A similar improvement was noticed in the brightness characteristics. Gamma, which previously led to excessive screen brightness, was corrected, contributing to better detail representation in the darker areas of the image while maintaining a natural tonal balance.

However, the biggest challenge was the calibration of the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness in 4K materials. At first glance, the EOTF value appeared almost perfect, but detailed tests showed a slightly different outcome. Upon closer inspection—especially using the filter on the right side of the EOTF chart—we noticed how the television manipulated 4K film materials, often significantly boosting brightness. This effect was particularly noticeable in scenes from films such as Pan and Billy Lynn, where the television attempted to artificially increase the brightness of elements, affecting their naturalness. Despite these imperfections, the calibration yielded positive results, especially in terms of tonal improvement. For most users, the final effect should be satisfactory, especially if they aim to bring image quality closer to professional reference standards.

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.

When it comes to smoothing tonal transitions, despite the presence of the "Smooth and Gradient Image" feature in the test sequence, we did not notice that the feature added anything — we recommend turning it off. As for upscaling, the television handled our model well, and the branches in the background are not excessively jagged — the image seems quite plastic. However, it was slightly cropped by the so-called overscan.

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.

Hisense U7NQ has a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which definitely contributes to smooth motion. For movie enthusiasts, there are two features available: judder reduction and motion blur reduction. The judder reduction feature minimizes the effect of so-called judder, which is the unpleasant stuttering of the image, particularly noticeable at lower frame rates. On the other hand, motion blur reduction helps sharpen fast-moving objects, which is useful when watching dynamic action scenes.

As for motion blur, the TV has a decent response time, so excessive blurriness is not visible, except in specific situations, such as the test with the little green alien on a dark background. In such cases, slight artifacts may appear, but overall, the TV handles dynamic images well, providing satisfactory motion quality.

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.

Hisense U7NQ offers everything a gamer might need for comfortable gameplay. The TV supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, providing an incredibly smooth image, especially in dynamic action games. The VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) feature ensures that the image adapts to changing frames per second, eliminating stuttering and tearing. Additionally, there is an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature that automatically switches the TV to game mode, minimizing input lag.

The TV also supports Dolby Vision, which is particularly important for gamers who value high contrast and vivid colors in games that support this format. The Hisense U7NQ also has a Game Bar feature that allows quick access to essential settings during gameplay, as well as support for G-Sync technology, which further reduces image tearing.

Unfortunately, despite the wide range of features, support for the most popular HDR format in gaming — HGiG — is lacking. This may be disappointing for gamers who expect optimal detail representation in HDR scenes. Nevertheless, the remaining features make the Hisense U7NQ a solid choice for any console gaming enthusiast.

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.