Hisense U7NQ vs Hisense U7Q

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 algorithms responsible for blacks are performing quite well, we expected a similarly good effect when it comes to brightness and overall HDR quality. Unfortunately – here we have to disappoint you a bit.

The U7Q is quite a bright TV – in optimal conditions, it can reach around 800 nits, which indeed impresses on some screens, especially in scenes like those from the movie The Meg. Bright segments can really shine, and the HDR effect is noticeable. The problem arises when very small, bright elements appear on a dark background – for example, in Sicario 2 or in the second scene of the movie Life of Pi. In such moments, the dimming algorithms operate too aggressively. Yes, the blacks look great then, but the brightest points can almost completely fade, causing the HDR effect to disappear and details to be barely visible. That's just the nature of this technology in this price segment.

As a consolation, it's worth adding that the U7Q is advertised as a QLED TV (in practice, a PFS layer is used, which works very similarly), and it is indeed capable of displaying a wide color palette – with DCI-P3 coverage at around 94%, that's a very good result for this class.

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.

We tested the U7Q in the best possible picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. This mode is supposed to provide the most "filmic" experience and fidelity to the creators' intent – right out of the box. Unfortunately, even this professionally sounding name does not guarantee a perfect picture.

In our unit, the problem lay in a poorly set white balance. Both in HD and 4K content, the image had too much blue and red, giving the screen a slightly pinkish hue. It didn't look terrible, but it was noticeable – especially in bright scenes and white backgrounds. This alone could have been forgiven, but the biggest issue is the management of brightness in HDR content. The EOTF curve from the measurements confirms what we saw earlier during the scene tests: the television often dims the smallest bright elements too much, causing them to almost disappear, or conversely – excessively brightens the brightest ones, affecting the naturalness of the image.

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.

Thanks to specialized tools, we managed to correct the color quality in SDR content to nearly perfection. In materials with lower dynamics, delta E errors dropped below 0.5, which can be considered an almost reference result. The image on television, YouTube, or classic Full HD looks really good after calibration. Well, but where couldn’t we improve the image so easily? Primarily, it concerns HDR quality content. While we managed to somewhat "tame" the white balance and eliminate pink hues in most scenes, unfortunately, we did not have full control over brightness management. We set the local dimming settings according to the best observations – SDR: Medium, HDR: High – but the U7Q still did everything a bit its own way. There were still cases of overly strong dimming or brightening of details that the calibration simply couldn't eliminate. And although the overall reception of the content is much better, it must be taken into account that the U7Q will always have something to say at the end "but."

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.

There are situations where we would like to smooth out tonal transitions a bit, especially in older materials – those that have limited source quality. The U7Q is equipped with a feature called “Smooth and Gradient Image,” but unfortunately… it works very poorly. In the “Low” option, the effects are practically unnoticeable, and other settings smooth out details but do not improve tonal transitions. The only plus is that the feature does not interfere with film grain, so it does not ruin the natural structure of the image.

Fortunately, content scaling performs quite well. The image is not overly sharpened, there is no artificial clarity – and although it is known that this is not the level of high-end televisions, the U7Q handles displaying really old content in a completely acceptable manner without any problem.

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.

U7Q is truly a fast television, similar to its more powerful version "PRO". At a resolution of 4K, it supports up to 144 Hz refresh rate, and if someone wants even more – in Full HD you can achieve up to 240 Hz! This will mainly benefit PC gamers, but it’s worth appreciating – this is a rare feature in this price segment. Right from the start, it’s clear that U7Q was created with dynamic content in mind, such as games or sports. In films, we are not left "out in the cold" either – U7Q offers the "Ultra Motion Smoothness" feature, where using two sliders you can adjust whether you want a smoother, theatrical image, or something closer to a cinematic style with a visible frame. It’s good that, like with most manufacturers, we have a choice here and can adjust it to our own preferences.

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 U7Q is a TV designed for gamers – and you can see that right away based on its gaming capabilities. It has practically everything you could wish for: variable refresh rate (VRR) – check, automatic game mode (ALLM) – also check, and high refresh rates of up to 240 Hz in Full HD, as well as support for various resolutions, not just 4K. It's truly a great set of features that makes the U7Q excel in both fast-paced shooters on consoles and more demanding titles on PC. Of course – like in most Hisense models – it lacks a proper implementation of the HGiG function. That's a shame because HGiG allows you to adjust the brightness of the console to the specific TV, which in practice makes displaying HDR games according to the creators' intentions much easier. Without this, you simply have to reckon with certain limitations in the final HDR image in games.