LG QNED87T6B vs Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV

The QNED87T6B provides a solid HDR performance, delivering an impressive visual experience in many aspects. With a brightness approaching 500 nits, it offers good visibility of fine details in high-dynamic scenes. Support for HDR10 and HLG ensures the content appears well on the screen, though the absence of more advanced formats like Dolby Vision or HDR10+ limits the potential for optimal brightness and detail in certain scenes. Without dynamic metadata, the TV may struggle to reproduce fine details in very bright areas, where these advanced standards would typically make a difference. However, its excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut (96.4%) provides vibrant, natural colours, enhancing the overall visual quality of 4K content.

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.

The LG QNED87T6B, even in its best factory setting, Filmmaker Mode, exhibits issues with colour reproduction. A significant problem is the white balance, where the blue colour tends to drop on the graph, causing a shift towards yellow. This results in a warmer hue than intended, which affects the naturalness of color reproduction, especially in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. The Colour Checker test confirmed that certain colours are distorted and do not accurately reflect reality, which can make movie scenes seem less lifelike and distort details.

In terms of contrast, there are notable issues with the gamma graph, showing significant drops where the optimal value should be around 2.4. This results in the TV displaying darker areas brighter in some scenes, which reduces depth and dynamic range. Additionally, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) curve, which corresponds to brightness reproduction, shows an unnatural drop at the start, leading to lower accuracy in dark scenes. This diminishes the TV's ability to convey full black depth, causing details in darker areas to be lost. As a result, more demanding scenes may appear less realistic, with a noticeable loss of detail in shadows and dark areas.

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.

After calibration, the LG QNED87T6B delivers impressive results with SDR content. The white balance has been improved, resulting in natural, harmonious tones across various scenes. The precise gamma tuning allows for accurate reproduction of details in both dark and bright areas, making the TV perform excellently in everyday use. The overall image is vivid and well-balanced, with solid colour quality in HD. The contrast has also improved, with the gamma chart showing fewer significant errors, providing a more refined viewing experience.

In 4K HDR, the white balance continues to perform well, though some errors remain at the end of the chart. These might be linked to the TV's aggressive local dimming, which can affect colour accuracy in certain scenes. While the TV does not fully improve brightness as indicated by the EOTF curve, its inherent construction limitations prevent it from achieving perfection in this area. The Colour Checker test highlights an issue with colour saturation, as the TV, despite offering a wide colour gamut, cannot fully capture what the director intended.

Nevertheless, the overall picture quality after calibration is considerably better than before. The improvements in white balance and gamma tuning result in more vivid and realistic colours, enhancing the viewing experience despite the remaining shortcomings.

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.

When it comes to lower-quality content, the LG QNED87T6B performs admirably, with smooth gradation effectively addressing problematic areas in the image without negatively impacting the film grain. For optimal results, setting the "Smooth Gradation" feature to a low level delivers the best effect, significantly enhancing the viewing experience of lower-resolution materials by making them smoother and more visually appealing.

The TV handles digital processing well, ensuring the image is displayed without overscan or clipping. While slight jaggedness may be noticeable on certain fine details, such as branches against a background, the overall presentation remains impressive. Users will be satisfied with the quality of the image when watching lower-quality content, such as standard television, as the TV does an excellent job of enhancing the visual experience.

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.

The LG QNED87T6B delivers decent motion smoothness, particularly with the "TruMotion" feature, which allows users to adjust motion smoothing on a scale from 0 to 10. The "De-Judder" setting helps regulate the smoothness of motion, while the "De-Blur" option enhances motion sharpness. This provides flexibility for users to choose between a more traditional cinematic effect with slight judder (lower settings) and a smoother, more theatrical image, which, while slightly deviating from the cinematic standard, can be appealing to many viewers.

For gamers and sports fans, the 120Hz panel ensures an immersive experience, while the IPS technology offers better response times compared to comparable VA panels at a similar price. This results in smoother gameplay and more dynamic viewing of fast-paced sports events, making the QNED87T6B an excellent choice for those seeking high-quality motion performance.

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.

The LG QNED87T6B is a top-tier choice for gamers seeking high-performance features. It is equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing seamless connection to the latest consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. This ensures full functionality, including support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which provide a smoother and more responsive gaming experience. The Game Bar feature enables easy management of gaming settings, allowing users to adjust VRR, ALLM, Multi View, and monitor the frame rate without navigating complex menus.

Additionally, the TV supports G-Sync and FreeSync, which are crucial for gamers using Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. These technologies synchronize the TV's refresh rate with the graphics card, reducing screen tearing and stuttering. With a 120Hz panel, the LG QNED87 delivers exceptional motion smoothness and image clarity, while the Black Frame Insertion (BFI) feature, available at 60Hz and 120Hz, further enhances visual fluidity. Overall, the LG QNED87T6B meets the demands of even the most discerning gamers, offering a comprehensive range of features that elevate the gaming experience.

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."