In fact, final yr’s U8N was equally potent, throughout the visible margin of error for most people. It’s no small feat to push the brightness even additional, however I’d’ve most popular Hisense focus as an alternative on among the U8’s hang-ups, like poor off-axis viewing, a standard difficulty with LED TVs, or its penchant for oversaturating reds.
That additional pink tint was notably noticeable in HD exhibits like Breaking Unhealthy (sure, I’m rewatching for a 3rd time) with the Warm1 coloration temperature, whereas Warm2 regarded too cool. In a single scene from Season 2, Jesse’s nuckles look positively painted pink as he performs with a beetle. In one other, a sure somebody is on the lookout for a funeral gown, pulling out a “blue” one that appears unequivocally violet on the U8QG—however correct blue (with some purple tint) on my LG C1 OLED.
The TV’s tendency to flatten shadow particulars is much less of a difficulty, because of its largely strong reflection dealing with and the flexibility to pep up darkish areas with Peak Brightness or settings like Darkish Element. Scenes just like the darkish depths of Mandalor from The Mandalorian or the torturous hilltop shot from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows proved simple to zip up even in difficult environments.
{Photograph}: Ryan Waniata
The U8 additionally appears to have stepped up its image processing this yr. Picture readability might be laborious to quantify, however the TV does job rendering sharp 4K photographs and upscaling HD video, whereas largely minimizing moiré, the form of glittering impact on positive patterns that may be an issue with budget-forward TVs. You’ll discover strong movement response, particularly with a contact of movement smoothing, and respectable display screen uniformity, too. My overview mannequin revealed solely minor blotches in difficult take a look at patterns and shifting skylines.
Maybe the U8QG’s greatest brag is that there simply aren’t numerous TVs that carry out this properly in its value tier, in a number of sizes (although efficiency between sizes will fluctuate). TCL’s rival QM8at the moment in our testing rooms, often prices extra, and costs go up from there for something near this stage of brightness from premium manufacturers, like Sony’s unbelievable Bravia 9 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). That might make the U8QG the default TV for brightness lovers on a finances, particularly as soon as the U8N is gone.
As typical, all of it relies upon if you purchase. Till lately, a 65-inch U8QG price $1,500, on par with the QM8K and bougier OLED fashions from final yr just like the LG C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The C4 is not any nuclear titan, however it supplies significantly better accuracy, readability, off-axis efficiency, and many others. At $1,000 or much less, the U8QG is so much friendlier, and properly value contemplating for these after eye-blasting brightness.
