07 Nov
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Hisense U7G 4K HDR TV Review: Confidently Click Buy Now

Hisense U7G television shows a picture of breakfast items.

Hisense U7G 4K HDR TV

RRP $ 900.00

"At under $ 1,000, the Hisense U7G is an unmistakable value."

advantages

  • Impressive brightness

  • Solid black levels

  • Excellent backlight control

  • Great to play with

  • Easy adjustment

disadvantage

  • Bad off-angle performance

  • Potentially dirty screen effect

My pick for the best TV under $ 1,000 for the past few years went to a TCL TV, but this year Hisense is at least a co-owner of that coveted spot with its U7G 4K ULED TV. At well under $ 1,000, this TV exceeds my expectations almost every step of the way – through the lens of a very picky TV enthusiast (me).

For most people, the U7G is absolutely a breeze. Here's why.

Out of the box

Hisense U7G TV remote control in hand.Riley Young / Digital Trends

Over my 29 years in consumer electronics, I have preached that heavy equipment is premium equipment. Of course, that notion has its limits – you don't want 25-pound headphones. But by and large, the best devices in each category have a certain weight, because even in the digital age, quality components tend to weigh more than cheap components.

This would mean that the Hisense U7G would not qualify as a premium television. It's amazingly easy. So much so that I had serious concerns about its overall build quality and its potential to impress me with its performance. But since I was able to move the U7G from place to place very easily in my test lab, I've found this TV to be well built and should stand the test of time.

Close up of The Hisense U7G TV stand.Riley Young / Digital Trends

As a bonus, the U7G is very easy to assemble and mount on the wall. Stand-alone installation requires just a few feet, and for those using a media center or sideboard, the footprint of the U7G is 47.75 "wide by 10.5" deep.

The box with the TV contains the feet, screws for the feet, a Google Voice remote, batteries for the remote, and some paper-printed product literature that you probably don't need.

Details on the U7G series

While we tested the 65-inch model 65U7G, our test also applies to the other screen sizes available in the series.

Screen size Model no RRP
55 inches

55U7G

 $ 700
65 inches 65U7G $ 900
75 in 75U7G $ 1,200

Put up

Hisense U7G TV with a picture of a chocolate ice cream bar on the screen.Riley Young / Digital Trends

One of the things I like the most about Hisense TVs is their ease of setup – especially when it comes to having the right picture mode presets for all of the different inputs and streaming apps on board.

I realize that a lot of people buy a TV, plug it in, turn it on, endure the necessary setup wizard, and then start watching TV right away without ever touching the picture settings. That's a shame. To get the best picture out of any TV – and the Hisense U7G in particular – it pays to take a little time to make at least a few simple adjustments.

By default, the TV is in a standard picture preset that ultimately suits your tastes, but the TV is also in a low-power mode that I strongly recommend users turn off right away. This eco setting limits the peak brightness of the TV and if you don't turn this off you will never know what your TV is really capable of.

Once the TV's eco mode is turned off, I would also suggest turning off motion smoothing. While motion smoothing is helpful for some fast-moving sports content, it makes movies and some TV shows look artificial and introduces the soap opera effect which I think is terrible. However, not everyone agrees with me. So if you like the smooth looking movement feel free to leave it on – just know, I'll never watch TV with you.

Personally, I think the pro move is to select Theater Day as the picture mode. If the color temperature seems a little warm to you or the picture doesn't seem so vivid, this is normal. Give your eyes a chance to get used to it. I think you will find that it looks a lot more authentic. Theater Day also gives you the best brightness output for SDR content without messing around with other settings.

A photo of kiwi fruit on a Hisense U7G television.Riley Young / Digital Trends

As soon as Theater Tag is selected for an HDMI input, it is also selected for the others. And if you select Theater Tag in one streaming app, that is the default for other streaming apps (again, this applies to SDR content). Most TVs don't offer this convenience, which is why I commend Hisense for making TV setup easy.

For HDR content, I recommend choosing HDR Theater and I recommend Dolby Vision Custom for Dolby Vision. Here, too, these picture modes are used across the board as soon as they are selected for an HDMI input or a streaming app.

One final note on setup: Android TV / Hisense's setup wizard will ask you lots of questions about privacy. Take a moment to read this information and choose carefully based on how well you are collecting data about your viewing habits. Also note that you can keep your ad data to yourself, but at the expense of relevant content suggestions.

Dimensions / specifications

Image of berries on a tree shown on the Hisense U7G TV.Riley Young / Digital Trends

As is common with TV reviews, I used a Spectracal C6 colorimeter profiled on an X-Rite i1Pro spectrometer along with the Calman Ultimate software to measure the out-of-the-box performance of the U7G before making detailed adjustments. Since few people will pay to have such a TV calibrated, I think these numbers are the most valuable.

I checked the peak luminance performance for SDR on Theater Night (283 nits) and Theater Day (566 nits). Theater Day looks just bright enough to provide a good-looking picture in a room with moderate natural light. This isn't overwhelming brightness, but it is definitely above average for televisions priced below $ 1,000. The backlight setting can be increased to increase the brightness in brighter rooms, but the black levels take a beating and look a bit greyish.

For the HDR theater mode, I got between 930 and 950 nits depending on how long I tested the peak brightness. I think almost 1,000 cd / m² in HDR is a good figure for a television in this price range. That's definitely bright enough to make HDR look like HDR, and that's again above average for a TV in this price range.

Interestingly, I found that the HDR standard mode didn't get any brighter than HDR Theater. This is atypical and another reason for me to recommend the HDR theater setting.

I also checked the U7G's 2 point grayscale performance and found it to be flawless. And I don't mean just for Hisense, I mean the grayscale was on Sony A80J accuracy levels. I expected this would result in excellent color accuracy, but oddly enough it didn't.

Normally, accurate grayscale means that the colors are tracking well, but technically the television has chromatic aberrations that go into the visible spectrum. However, they're not so significant that I think most viewers would notice.

Given that the TV is so cheap, a videophile on a budget might do well to buy the U7G and have the color calibrated by a professional. For the modest total cost of ownership increase, I think returning it to the right person might be worth it. However, most people will be happy with the color if they're not downright impressed.

Backlight and black levels

A photo of kiwi fruit on a Hisense U7G television.Riley Young / Digital Trends

I am very impressed with the backlight performance of the Hisense U7G. I have observed little to no blacks (where dark grays / shadow details are represented as black). There was also surprisingly little blooming and halo around light objects on dark backgrounds, which is impressive considering how bright the TV can get.

I have a new favorite piece of content to check black levels, shadow detail, blooming and halo effects all at once: Night on Earth, which is available on Netflix. I watch the show with the subtitles on and quickly learn everything I need to know about backlight controls and the black level performance of a television.

The great thing about this Netflix nature documentary series is that it is shot almost entirely at night – hence the title. They use special cameras and technology to take night pictures – action in nature that has never been seen before. The show is extremely gloomy on average, except where it isn't, which makes for a hell of a torture test, and I can tell you the U7G passed the test with ease.

Close-up of the edges of the Hisense U7G TV stand.Riley Young / Digital Trends

I've seen almost no noticeable blooming from the edges of the TV or halos around bright objects, the best test of which is the closed captions, which are bright white on an almost pitch black background. It's rare that I don't get distracted by a backlight system while watching dark content, but the U7G just got me to enjoy the content – that's a great endorsement.

HDR highlights were exactly what I expected / wanted for a TV in this price range. I think the U7G is a bit high on the brightness curve in terms of accuracy, but it's fun. The U7G reminds me of some Samsung TVs in this regard, but with better blacks for the price. HDR had pop and I enjoyed it.

Movement and processing

The movement performance was good – overall in the middle range. I saw a bit of stuttering and flickering when panning vertically, but that wasn't a consistent problem. Movement problems didn't occur often enough to upset me, which means most people will be very happy with this TV presentation.

Upscaling and processing were generally just fine. The U7G doesn't clean sound as well as a Sony TV, for example, but neither does most TVs. In particular, I noticed a bit of color streaking on low bit depth content from streaming services. The U7G isn't going to make Bob Ross look like a 4K studio master on PBS, but it's good for the type of content most people will be watching today. For the price, I couldn't ask for anything better. You'd have to pay MUCH more to get better build quality so I'm giving it back to Hisense to strike a good balance.

Games

Car video game played on the Hisense U7G TV.Riley Young / Digital Trends

According to the Xbox Series X 4K TV details, the Hisense U7G supports almost every gaming parameter available, including variable refresh rate. I wasn't expecting VRR on this TV, but when I enabled it on the Xbox Series X, I got no argument. What a pleasant surprise! I was only able to verify HDMI VRR and FreeSync support for the U7G – the jury has yet to be on G-Sync for PC gamers.

The U7G will be great for gamers. The input lag is super low (less than 15 milliseconds for 4K and about 7 ms for 1080p and VRR) and the HDR images are fantastic. There is great shadow detail and very little motion blur. All the essentials for a great gaming TV are in place.

Bonus material

The Hisense U7G is an Android TV with Google Assistant support and support for Google smart home devices. It's not as fancy a platform as Google TV, and the U7G has no hope of upgrading to Google TV in the future, but Android TV is a solid platform that will work well for years to come.

Our opinion

The U7G is currently the best TV you can buy for under $ 1,000. This honor was once shared with the TCL R645, however, supply chain issues have raised the price of the TV, leaving the U7G with that title for now. I also have to call the U7G the best TV for enthusiasts who don't have a big budget. This TV proves that you have great picture quality and you can't spend a small fortune.

Is there a better alternative?

At the price, no. The U7G offers unique value in 2021. However, the Hisense U8G only offers slightly higher performance (brightness) for $ 100 to $ 200 more.

How long it will take?

The Hisense U7G is positioned in terms of performance and features to perform well for several years. Hisense provides a one-year parts and labor warranty on its televisions provided they are used in a non-commercial environment.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. The U7G is a great television. The low price makes it a headless buy.

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