Review: Hisense U8QG QLED TV

If you’re after a crazy-bright TV, Hisense’s U8 series has you covered. In the past few years, each new U8 model has ramped up the juice considerably, with the U8QG offering another powerful upgrade over last year’s U8N (8/10, WIRED Recommends). Considering I freely referred to the U8N with words like “nuclear” and “weapons-grade,” that’s saying something. Of course, while TV brightness is key for bolstering colors and hitting the hottest HDR (high dynamic range) highlights, brighter doesn’t always mean better.

The 65-inch U8QG review model I tested has some knocks against it, including some odd color inaccuracies in SDR (standard dynamic range), a more convoluted setup process than usual, and maybe most notable, just three HDMI ports instead of the four you’ll get with last year’s model (and virtually all rivals).

The latest U8 still has plenty to recommend it, not least of which is its blend of potent mini LED backlighting, inky black levels, and excellent dimming control for knockout contrast. Colors really pop, and there are plenty of gaming features to go with its zippy 165-Hz refresh rate. I think you’re better off with last year’s still-explosive U8N while it lasts, but if you need a screen somewhere between nuclear and quasar, this TV’s got you.

Premium Design, Budget Caveats

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Like the U8N before it, the U8QG (the “G” stands for Google TV) ships with a stout and stylish pedestal stand. It’s more work to assemble than the leg-stands on older models, but it looks slick, fits on just about any console, and offers two stand positions for adding a soundbar or skinny center speaker. One of the most frustrating parts of the setup was the sheer amount (and type) of tape covering my review model, requiring a razor blade and tweezers to get the final gunk out of the nooks and crannies. Not exactly a usability masterstroke.

Setting up the Google TV smart system is much simpler, especially with a G Suite account. You can do most of the work from your phone, though the new Google TV app Hisense employs was jankier connecting to my system than the Google Home app used in previous models. I also experienced at least three network “disconnected” incidents, usually fixed by simply clicking on said network again. Otherwise, streaming was swift and intuitive. One other setup note: after going through the main permissions gauntlet, go to Advanced System in the settings and click Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.

As we’ve come to expect, the U8QG is generally well-appointed, including conveniences like Google Cast and AirPlay, an ATSC 3.0 tuner for next-gen broadcasts from TV antennas, a headphone jack, support for all major HDR formats, and a handy backlit remote.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The TV’s step-up 4.1.2 sound system may tempt you to save its precious HDMI 2.1-ready eARC port for a Blu-ray player or game console rather than a soundbar or powered bookshelf set. The sound still gets tinny in tough scenes, but there’s enough clarity, expansion, and bass to be usable, if not fully satisfying.

Conversely, the TV’s three HDMI inputs are a step down from the standard four. As a consolation, all three ports now support HDMI 2.1 for features like VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for high frame-rate gaming at up to 165 Hz, and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). There’s also a separate USB-C DisplayPort for plugging in a PC, but it doesn't support HDR or VRR.

Gaming is a big theme for the U8QG, with further spoils like a pop-up Game Bar for quick adjustments and Dolby Vision Gaming support. It’s also where I had the most fun with the TV’s powerful backlight system, getting the best out of the vivid backgrounds and characters in my current obsession, Split Fiction, without the need for much tinkering.

Tamp It Down

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

That wasn’t so much the case with other content. Out of the box, the U8QG is a blunt-force brightness weapon. Unless you’re watching outdoors or in a room bathed in sunlight, the first thing I recommend for a more accurate picture is to choose one of the cinematic Picture modes and change the Peak Brightness setting under Brightness from the default High to Low.

I understand the desire to see what this master blaster can do at full throttle, but you’ll likely find night scenes that look surreal, white-hot menus, and sharp highlights in films like Mad Max: Fury Road getting uncomfortable quickly. It's not just the brightness here but how liberally it's handled, making Hisense’s decision to default even film-forward modes to Peak Brightness on High seems odd, especially since the TV’s ambient light sensor is now hidden in the Intelligent Settings menu. There's also an Intelligent Scene feature that adjusts to content, but it’s disabled in Filmmaker and Dolby Vision modes and still tends to overbrighten for my taste.

In regular testing, I mainly used Filmmaker Mode with Peak Brightness on Low for both HDR and SDR content, goosing the backlight a few notches in the latter. Turning PB Off also looks good, but the TV’s tendency to crush shadow details in darker scenes forced me to use Low or, in very bright environments, Medium. For Dolby Vision, DV Dark was too dark for low-lit scenes unless I blasted Peak Brightness (and thus all images), so I used DV IQ and turned off settings like motion smoothing and Noise Reduction.

Nuclear-Plus

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Tempered or otherwise, the U8QG’s brightness is its most impressive feature, and man, it is something. At somewhere around 4,000 nits in small windows (up to a claimed 5,000 nits in some models), the TV matches or exceeds the brightest HDR Blu-rays you can buy, and provides several times more punch than most HDR streaming content that tops out at 1,000 nits.

That kind of brightness helps to not only hit the peppiest highlights with ease, but also swiftly lights up and sustains 4K HDR's billion-plus available color shades. The fiery quantum dot display makes the colors in your favorite shows, movies, and games sing, lighting up everything from glittering coral reefs to searing gasoline explosions.

Just as importantly, the TV’s black levels remain fantastically dark, and its thousands of dimming zones assure that light bloom, or haloing, is mostly kept in check. You’ll find sumptuous low-lit scenes, pitch black letterboxes, and rich depth in the void behind glowing spacecraft, with only the most challenging starlit scenes, like the intro to Disney+’s Andor, revealing notable light bleed.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Of course, last year’s U8N was similarly potent, within the visual margin of error for most folks. It’s no small feat to push the brightness even further, but I would’ve preferred Hisense focus instead on some of the U8’s hang-ups, like poor off-axis viewing, a common issue with LED TVs, or its penchant for oversaturating reds.

That extra red tint was particularly noticeable in HD shows like Breaking Bad (yes, I’m rewatching for a third time) with the Warm1 color temperature, while Warm2 looked too cool. In one scene from Season 2, Jesse’s nuckles look positively painted red as he plays with a beetle. In another, a certain someone is looking for a funeral dress, pulling out a “blue” one that looks unequivocally violet on the U8QG—but proper blue (with some purple tint) on my LG C1 OLED.

The TV's tendency to flatten shadow details is less of an issue, thanks to its mostly solid reflection handling and the ability to pep up dark areas with Peak Brightness or settings like Dark Detail. Scenes like the dark depths of Mandalor from The Mandalorian or the torturous hilltop shot from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows proved easy to zip up even in challenging environments.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The U8 also seems to have stepped up its picture processing this year. Image clarity can be hard to quantify, but the TV does a good job rendering sharp 4K images and upscaling HD video, while mostly minimizing moiré, the sort of glittering effect on fine patterns that can be a problem with budget-forward TVs. You’ll find solid motion response, especially with a touch of motion smoothing, and decent screen uniformity, too. My review model revealed only minor blotches in challenging test patterns and moving skylines.

Perhaps the U8QG’s biggest brag is that there just aren’t a lot of TVs that perform this well in its price tier, in multiple sizes (though performance between sizes will vary). TCL’s rival QM8, currently in our testing rooms, usually costs more, and prices go up from there for anything close to this level of brightness from premium brands, like Sony’s incredible Bravia 9 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). That could make the U8QG the default TV for brightness lovers on a budget, especially once the U8N is gone.

As usual, it all depends when you buy. Until recently, a 65-inch U8QG cost $1,500, on par with the QM8K and bougier OLED models from last year like the LG C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The C4 is no nuclear titan, but it provides much better accuracy, clarity, off-axis performance, etc. At $1,000 or less, the U8QG is a lot friendlier, and well worth considering for those after eye-blasting brightness.