TCL C8K vs Hisense U7Q

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.