28 Feb
Blog

Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV Review (P65Q9-H1)

Vizio 65 "Class P-Series (P65Q9-H1)

"One of the best values ​​in high-performance television."

  • Excellent HDR brightness for the price

  • Fixed black levels at an angle

  • Excellent color coverage

  • HDMI 2.1 connectors

  • Feature loaded

  • Possible local dimming error

  • Game console synchronization error

  • Bad contrast out of angle

After looking at the Vizio P-Series Quantum X (PQX for short), I wondered if people really needed all of the bells and whistles that Vizio's premium set had to offer. For a few hundred dollars less, I was hoping the rundown Quantum of the Vizio P-Series (PQ9 for short) would be "all killer, no filler." What do you lose if you lose the "X"? Let's find out.

Details on the Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV

While we tested the 65-inch model, our test also applies to the 75-inch model.

Screen size Model number RRP
65 inches P65Q9-H1 $ 1,200
75 in P75Q9-H1 $ 1,700

Out of the box

The box comes with the standard Vizio remote control (no voice), batteries and two easy-to-install metal feet and four screws. Similar to the Quantum X, the back of the PQ9 is fairly straightforward and includes a power connector and speakers, as well as inputs that are shaped in an “L” pattern on one side. Inputs include analog and optical audio, four HDMI ports (with eARC on port 1), composite video, and USB. While only the third and fourth HDMI inputs are labeled as 4K 120 Hz supportive, Vizio has assured us that all four HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.1.

Similar to the PQX, the PQ9 is an attractive television. There are practically no bezels at the top and the sides and just a thin metal strip at the bottom. The Vizio logo is on the right side of the lower edge and on the left is an inconspicuous power indicator. Because the PQ9 has a local full array dimming backlight system, the TV does not have a particularly deep profile.

The PQ9 sits just high enough above an entertainment stand that one of Vizio's soundbars (we used the M-Series 5.1 soundbar) can slide right underneath, making for one of the most understated soundbar arrangements I've ever seen.

When I have to complain about the design of the TV, there is no cable management to speak of. If there is a soundbar, you probably won't see any dangling cables, but with nothing blocking your view, the cables were clearly visible.

Basic settings

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Maintaining the picture settings is a little less annoying than with other TV brands. The picture settings for apps and HDMI inputs must be specified separately. In addition, there are individual settings for SDR, HDR and Dolby Vision content that must be processed for apps and HDMI inputs.

In my experience, the easiest way is to open the YouTube app on the TV, play SDR content, then navigate to the picture settings menu and select the preset for calibrated pictures. Further down the image settings menu, navigate to advanced settings and then to motion controls. If you don't want the “soap opera effect”, reduce the jerking and blurring from two to zero.

Next, go to a YouTube video in HDR (there are tons of them) and repeat the process if necessary by selecting “HDR Calibrated” and lowering those same motion settings if necessary. In my experience, however, selecting “Calibrated” for HDR causes the PQ9 to make a similar setting for HDR.

For Dolby Vision, I recommend going to a Dolby Vision title from Netflix or Disney +, then selecting Dolby Vision Bright, selecting Warm for the color temperature, and then turning off motion smoothing.

Repeat the above three processes for an HDMI input and you should be set.

Color performance

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After making the above settings, I measured the PQ9's white balance which gives a good indication of color accuracy at a glance. Since white is made up of red, green, and blue colors, I can tell if those colors are made in balance. In my tests, I noticed that the PQ9 leaned a little too much towards red – an attribute that I noted was present in the PQX. It took much less time and tweaking to match the PQ9, however, and the bright whites had less redshift than the PQX. Maybe that's because the PQ9 doesn't get that bright, but I still call it an advantage.

On the whole, the colors look rich, vibrant, and pleasant, and I haven't done anything repulsive that the average viewer would recognize. My tests have confirmed that the Vizio is not perfectly color accurate, but it is close enough for most people. In addition, the PQ9 generates a very large color palette with different brightness levels, which leads to a very satisfactory display of HDR content.

We measured around 1,100 nits in HDR mode.

brightness

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After some testing, I found that the PQ9 hit almost 550 nits in SDR mode – which gives a bright picture, but you won't get a lot of bright highlight detail in SDR. While for bright room scenarios you could get brighter by maximizing the backlighting, it could result in a washed out image in darker rooms.

In HDR mode, we measured around 1,100 nits and thus missed the promised 1,200 a bit – but the PQ9 easily achieved 1,200 nits in standard and vivid mode. For both HDR and SDR, this TV is more than bright enough for most viewing situations. Not as bright as the PQX and its bold 3,000 nit peak brightness, but we'll discuss whether I missed that extra punch later in this review .

Backlight

It's true that the PQ9 creates a halo or bloom effect when you have bright objects against a really dark, black background, and that black areas tend to be a little grayed out – we could see the screen lit up when subtitles There were bolts over the black mailbox. However, the fact is that almost all LED-backlit TVs do, and I think Vizio did an admirable job of solving the problem.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Looking at it head-on from direct center wasn't a big problem, but once off-center you could see things cloud over. Again, this is typical of VA type LCD panels, but here it seemed particularly severe compared to some of the other TVs we tested this year. To be fair, these competing TVs were more expensive and didn't get as bright. I think we're looking at a compromise situation where you'll have to spend a lot more to get similar brightness with better backlight control. (It's worth noting that we kept the backlighting on medium for Active Full Array for SDR, HDR, and Dolby Vision as this gave the best results.)

Now to a problem that both I and Vizio found rather annoying: On my test device, the backlight seemed to be slow to respond in some test clips that trace a small white box around a black screen. When I take out Netflix content and go back to the title screen, I can see it darken and then lighten again when I figure out what to do. I call it local dimming delay.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

While testing the actual content to see if the issues were just limited to logos and test screens or not, we found that the backlight was slow to respond, which is problematic in dark rooms where our eyes are more sensitive to displacement Brightness.

The screen evenness on my PQ9 example wasn't particularly good.

It is known that local dimming delays occur. I've seen it on a number of televisions. However, that delay seemed extreme by comparison, even with other TVs in Vizio's cast. It looks like a bug, but Vizio and I had a hard time tracking it down. Vizio has informed me that there are no widespread reports of this type of problem. As such, it is very likely that the problem is limited to the test pattern I have, but if I do, others could too.

uniformity

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The screen evenness on my PQ9 example wasn't particularly good. I could see vertical bands pretty clearly in images with wide areas of color, and there was some heavy vignetting in the corners where the brightness decreases a bit. Again, that dirty screen effect and vignetting will vary from panel to panel, so your mileage may vary.

Move

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The motion handling of the PQ9 for 24 fps movie content looks great. When the set's film mode is activated, there is no serious judder, although we could see a judder with 30 fps content. (This jerking can be removed by smoothing motion, but you get back the "soap opera effect" which in most cases makes things look generally worse.)

If there's an abundance of fine details to be tracked, you may see some glimmer in these objects, which we've seen on many televisions this year. There is something about high brightness coupled with fine details that seems difficult for current processors.

On the positive side, I didn't see any excessive moire patterns in tight geometric patterns on the PQ9, which suggests that the processor is indeed doing a pretty good job

Play

There were many problems enabling 4K 120Hz with HDR and variable refresh rate (VRR), all of which were suitable for next-gen gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. This has been a problem with many televisions this year.

The gameplay was excellent, with extremely low entry lag and great HDR graphics.

Connecting an Xbox Series X is designed to be an automated process in which the console detects the capabilities of the TV and automatically applies the correct video settings. Unfortunately, there is a bug that requires you to quickly adjust the settings so that everything communicates well with each other.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

To make the adjustment, go to Image Settings and scroll to the bottom of the menu where you will find "Input Settings". By default, the TV is set to Auto, but HDMI 2.1 must be turned on for Xbox Series X to function properly. After that, I also had to restart the TV so the Xbox Series X could get the correct information from the PQ9. It took some work, but we finally got there. Vizio is hoping to fix this bug soon and if it does then this review will be updated accordingly.

The gameplay highlighted the slowness of the backlighting issues mentioned above, especially with regards to the menus for the games. Other than that – which we know could be a bug with this example – the gameplay was excellent, with extremely low input lag and great HDR graphics that really brought the games to life.

Our opinion

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

I started by wondering if the PQ9, being a cheaper TV than the PQX, is the smarter buy. Based on my experience, I cannot make a definitive call.

To make sure the PQ9 has enough brightness for stunning HDR images and doesn't have the excessive redshift that I saw in the PQX. But the local dimming delay is distracting and I did everything I could to eliminate the problem – reset, restart, various settings – but the PQ9 was just an odd feat for us. However, if that lag is just a bug, the PQ9 is an excellent option and probably the smarter buy compared to the admittedly impressive PQX. It would also be one of the best values ​​in high end television that you can buy today.

Is there a better alternative?

No. With its superior brightness and black levels, the Vizio PQ9 is in a class of its own. The comparable Q70T from Samsung is nowhere near as well equipped or exciting to look at. TCL's 8 series is very well matched in terms of price and performance, but it's free and hard to buy right now. LG's Nano90 is very competitive to sell, but this TV is also on its way out as new 2021 models ship to retail stores. For a $ 1,200 65-inch TV with its specs and performance, the Vizio P-Series Quantum can't be touched.

How long it will take?

Given Vizio's track record of overall build quality and HDMI 2.1 features and the PQ9's advanced processor, the TV can last for several years before it may (want to) be replaced.

warranty

Vizio grants a one-year guarantee on its TV products. For more information, see the Vizio warranty page.

You should buy it

Yes, but only if you have the option to return it should you run into the local dimming problem that I experienced with my test device. At this point, I am encouraged by a low response rate on the PQ9, and the fact is that this TV is tremendous performance for the price.

Editor's recommendations




03 Feb
Blog

Vizio P Series Quantum X (P85QX-H1) Review: Bright Idea

vizio p series quantum x p85qx h1 review quantumx 2

Vizio 65-inch Quantum X 4K P-Series HDR Smart TV

"But with great strength comes great responsibility."

  • Incredibly bright TV

  • Fixed black levels

  • Incredible price-performance ratio

  • Good for playing

  • Red tone with ready-to-use image settings

  • The calibrated dark mode hides the shadow details

When it comes to televisions, bigger is often better. But how about brightness? We dive into the Quantum X 85-inch Vizio P-Series TV (P85QX-H1) to find out.

Out of the box

For this review, we tested the 85-inch model because … why not? Vizio was kind enough to send the huge $ 2,500 TV with it, and we thought it would be a good time to see what Vizio's best look at its largest size looked like.

The large size of the TV made it a little more difficult to set up than usual as Vizio suggests placing the TV on a large surface when installing the TV feet. Fortunately, we had a table just big enough and the TV comes with a large piece of protective cardboard that can be used to isolate the TV screen from the surface in use.

The feet themselves are made of matte black metal and are relatively easy to install. We recommend inserting both screws into the appropriate holes for each foot before tightening. This will avoid potential problems with correctly aligning the holes.

In the box with the television, the feet and the screws, there is also a power cord, batteries and the remote control from Vizio, which, by the way, is not a voice remote control. Google is required to use a smart assistant with the TV. Amazon Alexa or Apple device or speakers.

The aesthetic design of the TV is quite elegant, with very thin bezels and pleasantly textured edges. The back of the TV is made of plastic, which isn't what you'd expect from a flagship TV, but Vizio doesn't charge the same amount of money as its competitors.

Our only real design problem is a lack of cable management.

Entrances

Vizio includes full specification HDMI 2.1 inputs in the P-Series Quantum X with a bandwidth of 48Gbps – at least that's true now that Vizio has released an update for the TV series. At the time of evaluation, we were struggling to get all HDMI 2.1 features to work when testing with a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Please see below for more information on the TV's gaming capabilities.

First picture adjustments

The P85QX-H1 is absolutely huge at 85 inches. But what is the picture like, apart from the impressive size? The P85QX-H1 is definitely bright – up to 3000 nits. The lighter the whites got, the more a red hue crept in. While the problem can be fixed in the white balance settings, the correction took much longer than expected. Once this was corrected, the color coverage and accuracy were measured very well. We are only concerned that some of the value will go out the window when a professional calibrator has to be called in to bring the image closer to accuracy.

Calibrated dark mode vs. calibrated mode

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When it came to calibrated HDR content in calibrated dark mode, a lot of the dark scenes we saw were just black. Turning the local dimming setting to medium didn't help much either – it just wasn't good for dark scenes. According to Vizio, this is not normal, but we did not see any fixes to the settings during our test period.

However, when entering Calibrated (instead of Calibrated Dark Mode) the details were enlarged significantly and showed all the nuances we should see rather than just the black stripe of nothing we saw in Calibrated Dark Mode. Although the details were now visible, the color still had to be corrected and calibrated.

Black levels and brightness

The black levels of the PQX are very good with the right settings. You get a good amount of shadow detail and blooming is kept to a minimum for most of the time. The brightness is very intense. The P85QX-H1 is pretty good at doing HDR effects, and it's pretty dazzling, even though some of the white clouds we previewed were tinted pink with no color correction. However, the computing power of the P85QX-H1 is spot on.

The black levels of the PQX are very good with the right settings.

Backlight

Backlighting became an occasional problem. We found that the backlighting algorithm / TV execution was a bit slow to meet the requirements of the content and as a result we noticed slight brightness shifts on the screen that shouldn't be there. Granted, it's more obvious because the P85QX-H1 is just so big, but it's a visible problem that we couldn't ignore.

Uniformity, movement and processing of the screen

The screen evenness of the obtained P85QX-H1 was solid. As for movement, we saw stuttering on challenging scenes like an evening flight through New York City – the buildings stutter as they move from top to bottom. The good news is that we didn't see any moiré, which is a common occurrence when viewing this test clip – another sign of excellent workmanship.

This processing can also be identified by the lack of color stripes, even at lower resolution and low bit depth content. During some pans, however, while the movement was smooth, there were light flashes in bright areas that we occasionally found annoying.

Audio

The audio quality of the P85QX-H1 isn't bad – but it's not great either. It has a decent low end, which avoids the thin sound of many TVs. And while the speakers are near the bottom and the back, the presence of the sound is such that it doesn't sound like the sound is coming from behind the TV or from below. Adding one of Vizio's sound bars would be a great addition and would equate the sound with the grandeur of the TV.

Play

The input delay of the P85QX-H1 is good at around 13.5 to 14 milliseconds at 4K 60 frames per second with HDR switched on. Unfortunately, like so many other TVs this year, the P85QX-H1 did not achieve 4K 120Hz with 4: 4: 4 chroma at the time of testing. Fortunately, Vizio has since fixed this problem with a firmware update so that owners of Sony PS5 and Xbox Series X can now take full advantage of their video settings. The Vizio gaming engine can now communicate very well with these consoles and these settings are automatically set correctly for you.

The P85QX-H1 is great but needs a bit of help to get there

Our opinion

We have mixed feelings about the P-Series Quantum X. In a minute it'll kick the ass and look absolutely gorgeous, but in the next minute it's going to do something that scares us off in a way that's hard to articulate. A TV of this caliber shouldn't need as many color corrections right away. Once corrected, it does some amazing things – the brightness reveals colors that we've never seen before.

The most important thing about this is that the P85QX-H1 is great but needs a bit of help to get there. It does take some tweaking (and possibly some cable management options), but once those are fixed it can take you into brilliant new visual territory.

Is there a better alternative?

Comparing the Vizio P-Series Quantum X to other televisions is made difficult by the fact that, although Vizio launched its new line of TVs in late 2020, the company refers to it as the 2021 TV line for all of 2021. In In this case, we will update this section as soon as competing 2021 models are released.

Compared to 2020 TVs currently available, the Vizio is extremely competitive in the price-performance category. This is one of the boldest, brightest TVs you can buy anywhere compared to the Samsung Q90T, and it costs $ 800 less than the Samsung at the 65-inch size. At 85 inches, the PQX costs around $ 1,000 less than a Samsung Q90T of comparable size.

How long it will take?

Since the Quantum X of the P-series is equipped with HDMI 2.1 connections and appears to be well built, the television should last several years despite quality control.

warranty

Vizio grants a one-year guarantee on its TV products. Please refer to the Vizio warranty page for more information.

Should you buy it?

We will say yes with the caveat that we strongly recommend that the TV be professionally calibrated. Without calibration, the TV appears to display an obvious shade of red that cannot be removed using the basic settings or guesswork in the two-point white balance setting section. Unfortunately, the cost of a professional calibration takes away some of the PQX's value, but it remains a lower cost, high-performance TV option compared to Samsung, LG, and Sony TVs.

Editor's recommendations




25 Aug
Blog

Hisense H9G Quantum 4K HDR TV Review | Blisteringly Bright

hisense h9g quantum tv review 4k hdr ott 00 02 33 01 still008

"The image quality of the H9G Quantum can compete with televisions that cost twice as much."

  • Incredibly bright

  • Very good black levels

  • Surprisingly good HDR image

  • Easy to use

  • Responsive Android TV OS

  • Color is a little off

  • Movement jerks sometimes

Hisense is on a tear.

After several years of chasing the same brand awareness enjoyed by competing manufacturers like LG, Samsung and Sony, Hisense sales have soared. And if its H9G Quantum TV is any indication, the company could be in a dominant position.

The H9G Quantum is the first time I can remember a television that's so heavily under-promised and handed down. It's not perfect, but it's going to be one of the best TV options for the vast majority of people this year.

Out of the box

Although I recently reviewed the Hisense H8G, I was pleasantly surprised at how elegant the H9G looked after setting it up. I have to say I was initially surprised by the TV's feet – they look like giant bottle openers when not attached to the TV – but once they were installed they started to grow on me.

When those huge feet are in place, they don't look so clumsy and big anymore. Half of them are not visible and the other half seem to make the TV look nice. Not that the H9G needs a lot of disguise. It has almost no existing bezels on the top and sides, which are slightly recessed behind the glass panel of the TV, which makes for a very modern and minimalist look. The brushed metal trim at the bottom seems out of place in comparison, but luckily it doesn't attract too much attention.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Inside the box with the TV was the aforementioned feet, four screws, a power cord, remote control, batteries, and a jumble of paper product literature.

As for the remote control, it's pretty simple, but it has a couple of keyboard shortcuts for popular streaming services and a button to bring up voice control, which the Google Assistant supports.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

properties

Connectivity is all the rage these days, and this is where the H9G quantum falls a little short. While competing TV manufacturers are promoting various game-friendly features such as automatic low latency mode (automatic game mode), variable refresh rate (VRR), 4K image performance of 120 Hz, and eARC, none of the H9G's four HDMI ports support any of the following these functions.

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For gamers, there is little input delay and HDR image quality, and those who connect soundbars will need to use standard ARC as Dolby Atmos passthrough is not supported.

These shortcomings can be easy to miss if you have no plans to play with your TV and just want a great picture. The H9G offers a local dimming LED backlight system with 132 zones in the 55-inch ($ 700) model and 180 zones in the 65-inch ($ 950) model.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Hisense also claims that a peak brightness of 1000 nits is not only bright enough to convince HDR images, but should also be enough to make the black levels look nice and dark when controlled over so many dimming zones.

I'll be referring to this TV as the H9G Quantum long enough to mention that the quantum in the name means quantum dots in the TV itself and that this should allow not only a very large color gamut, but also a higher color volume with more degrees of intensity for those colors.

All of this to say, if you are looking for image quality at a great price, then be sure to read on.

User experience

Before I get into image quality, I want to talk about what it's like to use the H9G. On the whole, it's a pleasant experience, but I've encountered a few quirks that could bother those looking to tweak their picture settings for the best possible performance.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The Hisense H9G runs on the Android TV platform and does this adequately – the experience is fast enough, with some lag in clicking through apps, and apps themselves load pretty quickly. Chromecast is built right in, so you can find your favorite videos, photos or music on your phone and watch them on your TV using a mobile device or computer.

When it comes to image settings, there is some very good news and some a little confusing. The good news is that when you select a picture mode for SDR (standard dynamic range – like cable / satellite TV, DVDs, most games), the system will automatically select the picture mode that makes the most sense for HDR.

Sit, click, watch and know you're getting the best image performance.

For example, if I selected Theater Day mode for the standard display, the TV would automatically switch to HDR Bright or Dolby Vision Bright when I watched HDR content on Netflix or Amazon. When I chose Theater Night, the TV would automatically go to HDR Dark or Dolby Vision Dark mode.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

I've never seen this type of automation and is extremely helpful for the average user who isn't interested in manual adjustments. Sit, click, watch and know you're getting the best image performance.

Hisense has also built in some automatic picture and sound adjustment functions with A.I.support that try to optimize the TV's picture and sound based on environmental factors. I didn't find them particularly useful, however. In general, I prefer to be in control.

And it's the control freak in me who got confused as to why I couldn't have independent white balance settings for SDR and HDR. I admit that this is an issue that most users don't. If you are amazed by what I am talking about, you know that this problem does not affect you. But for those who choose to have their TVs professionally tuned, it has been known that the H9G was unable to make white balance corrections (an adjustment that helps adjust color) for SDR and HDR independently. Ultimately, I went back to the factory setting for this setting.

Image performance

I already hinted at this, but now I want to be very clear: the Hisense H9G offers excellent image quality for the price. In fact, I suspect this might be the right TV choice for a very wide audience.

Hisense claims that this TV can achieve 1,000 nits of brightness right on the box. That seems like an odd thing as the vast majority of the people who would see this TV in its box while shopping are likely not that keen on what a sucker is, let alone how many of them your TV is supposed to produce. But I suppose it's a large number and people might assume it's good.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

That's a pretty good number. I think you need at least 750 nits of peak brightness for HDR images to look good. When the television delivers perfect black levels, like the Sony A8H OLED or the LG CX OLED. For a TV with LED backlighting like the H9G, 1,000 nits provide impressive contrast in my opinion. What I found exciting was that the H9G I received was able to achieve much higher brightness. My sample averaged 1,300 nits and peaked at 1,400 in some scenarios, which is better than advertised. When does this ever happen?

However, all of that brightness doesn't mean much if the TV can't effectively display even dark blacks. To my amazement, the H9G offers some of the most impressive black levels I've ever seen on an LED TV, let alone one that costs under $ 1,000.

The result of the impressive brightness and deep black levels of the H9G leads to a really exciting contrast. You don't have to be a TV aficionado to appreciate it – the H9G just dazzles.

Since I approach every TV with the same level of accuracy, I tested the H9G's color accuracy. It wasn't poor, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be. To make matters worse, I found it difficult to adjust due to a color matching issue mentioned above.

When using the Calman software together with a SpectraCal C6 colorimeter, I found that the white measurement contained far too much blue. Whenever one color is out of balance in white, all other colors are removed. This manifested itself in a magenta hue to white and cream colors, and I felt that shades of red were also significantly affected.

But I'm a TV nerd and I do this every day. I don't think most people will have an issue with the H9G's color accuracy.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

However, I think some people might have a problem handling the H9G. When I test a TV, I turn off the motion smoothing functions because I don't care about the soap opera effect they cause and I have to level the playing field for all of the TVs I have tested.

With motion smoothing turned off, I saw a lot of stuttered movements, and not just in fast-paced sports. Even faces on the screen seem to blink when they move slightly. The problem was more obvious in some scenes than others, but when I saw it I couldn't see it anymore, which I found a little frustrating.

With smooth movement, there was some stuttering to be seen. Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Other users have reported similar issues to me while others still stated that they did not experience the problem. This is likely because some people are simply more sensitive to small anomalies than others.

Overall, however, the H9G is a satisfactory TV, and I think most people will absolutely love it. Both SDR and HDR content appear vibrant and rich, and in some cases seem to disappear from the screen. This is top-notch picture quality that I expect from televisions that cost almost twice as much. The image of the H9G compares well with the Samsung Q80T for $ 1700 and the Sony X950H for $ 1700.

Our opinion

The Hisense H9G Quantum is one of the best values ​​on TV that we'll see in 2020 and well into 2021. Its picture quality will amaze most viewers, while its ease of use makes it a pleasure to experience every time you turn it on.

Is there a better alternative?

Possibly. The TCL R635 looks very promising, as does the Vizio P-series Quantum. At $ 900, the TCL R635 is a slightly better alternative in some ways and costs less. I'm also confident that Vizio's $ 1,000 P-Series Quantum will be very competitive in the brightness department for those who may need an even brighter TV, although that's hard to imagine after looking at the H9G. I will update this section as soon as these televisions have been thoroughly evaluated.

How long it will take?

The Hisense H9G is not well suited to taking advantage of the advanced gaming features offered with next generation gaming consoles. For television, however, it would be many more years.

warranty

Hisense warrants 1 year parts and labor.

You should buy it

Yes. If you don't need advanced gaming features but want a very bright TV with impressive black levels and overall great picture quality without breaking the bank, the Hisense H9G Quantum is an excellent choice.

Editor's recommendations




15 Jul
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Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR TV Review | Value verified

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR television

"Iridescent picture quality, especially for the price."

  • Very good black levels

  • High brightness

  • Impressive contrast

  • Solid HDR performance

  • No support for HDMI 2.1 functions

  • Requires moderate color correction

I'm still shocked at how great TVs under $ 1,000 can be these days. Time was, if you wanted premium picture quality from a 55- or 65-inch television, you'd spend at least $ 1,500 to $ 3,000.

The Hisense H8G Quantum is part of a new generation of TVs from China that are bursting the price models of competing brands. At $ 700, the 65-inch H8G Quantum looks like an almost ridiculously good value. But what about this picture quality?

To be honest, I've felt lukewarm about the last Hisense TVs I've checked. Recently the Hisense H8F worked well in bright rooms, but it lacked the deep black levels and vivid colors that I got from the TCL 6 series for the same price. The operating system was also sluggish and frustrating.

When I went into this H8G Quantum test, I hoped quantum dots, a more advanced backlight system, and Android TV could bring the H8G Quantum from good to great. Spoiler alert: I have not been disappointed.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR TV details

While we tested the 65-inch H8G model, our test also applies to the 55-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch models.

Screen size Model number RRP
50 inches 50H8G $ 400
55 inches 55H8G $ 600
65 inches 65H8G $ 800
75 inches 75H8G $ 1500

Out of the box

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

I am pleasantly surprised by the aesthetics of the H8G Quantum. It has remarkably slim bezels and a fairly thin profile.

Like most TVs today, the TV stand consists of two blade feet. Unlike many TVs that offer a range of foot positions at the other end of the TV, the H8G Quantum also has a narrow placement option. If you choose the narrower set, the space requirement is about 36 inches wide and 9.7 inches from front to back. The wider stance, which offers more stability and honestly looks better, is just under 44 inches wide.

I am pleasantly surprised by the aesthetics of the H8G Quantum.

There are limited options for cable management. A simple cable clip is attached to the back of each stand.

The included remote control is an old-fashioned wand-style model with more buttons than you probably need. I'd love to see an update for a more modern remote, but I won't complain for $ 700.

properties

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

The H8G Quantum offers four HDMI 2.0 inputs, one of which supports ARC, but there is no eARC support. There is also no support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) or ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). Players should consider both features later next year with next generation consoles.

If you have older video components, there is a composite video input next to two analog audio inputs. All three cinch connections are integrated on the back of the TV. There is no need for a breakout cable and no support for component video connections, although the need for them quickly subsides.

Under the hood, the H8G Quantum has a VA LCD panel with a FALD backlighting system (Full Array Local Dimming). The combination of these two should help the TV achieve deeper black levels and minimize the halo effect that rings of light creates around bright objects on a dark background.

Using the VA panel also means that viewing from outside the angle doesn't look very good. The colors are washed out, the contrast is badly affected and you can see the backlight in action more easily – all very typical.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

Hisense tried to solve these common problems with some kind of extended viewing angle, but I'm just telling you now that I don't think it works particularly well. Nevertheless, the H8G Quantum offers exactly the same performance as other televisions that have no additional layers to improve off-axis display.

Adding quantum dots should mean that the H8G Quantum not only offers a much wider range of colors, but also offers a richer HDR experience. Speaking of which, the H8G Quantum supports the HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG HDR formats. Hisense also claims the TV supports HDR10 +, but I could never use it for Amazon Prime Video, which is my only source for that particular format. I don't think this is a TV fault, but a strange mistake.

As previously mentioned, the H8G Quantum runs Android TV and it runs surprisingly well. Android TV has been notoriously difficult to operate in the past, but I had no significant delay or lethargy.

performance

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

Full disclosure: The first H8G Quantum test sample Hisense sent me was defective. I'm not sure if the problem is related to the image processor, the panel, or both, but it didn't look right to me. I recorded my experience with this TV in this video and requested a replacement that was broadcast immediately. The defective device has been returned to Hisense for analysis, and I will update this review when Hisense reports to me about the exact error.

Hisense assures me that the problems I have had are not common, and I can confirm that there are no widespread reports of problems.

I am very impressed with the image quality of the H8G Quantum.

Within seconds of turning on the replacement pattern, I was able to determine that I had a properly functioning television. However, as I dug deeper, I began to suspect that the TV I had received might work a little too well in some ways. More on that in a moment.

In general, I am very impressed with the image quality of the H8G Quantum. Sitting in front of the TV, I was surprised at how well the backlight system controlled the dark areas around bright objects, especially in HDR mode. A popular test in the real world is watching a dark film with letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the picture while subtitles are activated. The white text at the bottom of the screen often colors the surrounding black bars medium dark gray, and although I've seen part of this effect, it has been impressively minimized.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

The H8G Quantum I received is also able to achieve impressive brightness. Here I began to suspect that the TV I had received might perform better than expected for this model. According to Hisense, this television should output a maximum of 700 nits of peak brightness.

I measured the model I received using a SpectraCal C6 HDR colorimeter and Portrait Displays Calman 2020 color calibration software and got a peak brightness value of around 920 nits – significantly higher than Hisense's claimed and higher than that of values ​​measured by other experts.

Commentators on YouTube have indicated that I may have received some kind of “juiced” or “optimized” television from Hisense, but I don't think this is the case. Not only did Hisense assure me that I had received a standard sample, I was doing a factory reset on all the TVs I checked before I rated them, and supposedly deleted any changes that were made to me before the TV was shipped. In short, I think I was lucky.

It was clear that the color was slightly different.

The feeling of hitting the jackpot with this TV continues in the fact that the sample I received has a flawless screen uniformity. When using a full color gray pattern, I did not see any vignetting or other dark spots on the screen. This TV has an extremely clean panel.

Not everything was great. Without taking any measurements, it was clear that the color was a little different. Not bad, just not exactly. Yellow seemed to be particularly intense, and I felt that the orange colors were also a bit overboard. After taking more measurements, I noticed that the blue pixels on the TV were too pronounced. I made a little adjustment and everything clicked into place.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

The H8G Quantum is immediately very powerful in the modes Theater Day and Theater Night. Color could use some work, and if you're the type of person who values ​​accurate color, consider some of the money you save on buying this TV and pay a professional calibrator to make some adjustments .

Otherwise, I think people will be amazed by the picture quality of this TV. The black tones are deep, the colors vivid and the HDR material is extremely pleasant to look at. The television looks vivid in a room with daylight and even better in a dark room for a movie night.

As for processing, I feel Hisense is making some progress. When viewing Netflix and Hulu's low bit rate content, the H8G Quantum was unable to clear the image as well as the Sony X900H. This is hardly a fair comparison, but the fact that the H8G is even in the stadium with a TV that is twice as expensive really says something.

Our opinion

The Hisense H8G is an impressive television, especially for the price. With sizes from 50 to 75 inches and prices from $ 380 to 1300, the H8G Quantum line offers a model that meets the needs of a wide range of TV buyers, especially those who want premium picture quality in a budget-friendly set.

Is there a better alternative?

At $ 700, I'm having trouble making comparisons until the Vizio and TCL TV casts arrive. I can say the H8G is well above its price range, and I suspect the IT models will outperform competitors like Samsung's TU8000 and LG's UN7300.

How long it will take?

I don't have enough years of experience with Hisense TVs to make a qualified judgment about how long this TV will last. However, I will say that Hisense's television track record in the US seems to be going in a positive direction.

warranty

Hisense grants a one-year warranty on parts and labor on the Hisense H8G Quantum. The guarantee is full of provisions. Read them carefully here.

Should you buy it

Yes. Most people will love the picture quality of this TV for the price. I wouldn't recommend it to avid gamers who are excited about the arrival of next generation consoles, but it is an extremely practical purchase for most users.

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