In fact, final 12 months’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 well-liked Hisense focus as a substitute on a number of the U8’s hang-ups, like poor off-axis viewing, a standard challenge with LED TVs, or its penchant for oversaturating reds.
That additional purple tint was significantly noticeable in HD reveals like Breaking Unhealthy (sure, I’m rewatching for a 3rd time) with the Warm1 coloration temperature, whereas Warm2 appeared too cool. In a single scene from Season 2, Jesse’s nuckles look positively painted purple as he performs with a beetle. In one other, a sure somebody is in search of 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 problem, because of its principally strong reflection dealing with and the power 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 straightforward to zip up even in difficult environments.
{Photograph}: Ryan Waniata
The U8 additionally appears to have stepped up its image processing this 12 months. Picture readability could be onerous to quantify, however the TV does a superb job rendering sharp 4K photos and upscaling HD video, whereas principally minimizing moiré, the type 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 transferring skylines.
Maybe the U8QG’s greatest brag is that there simply aren’t loads of TVs that carry out this nicely in its worth tier, in a number of sizes (although efficiency between sizes will fluctuate). TCL’s rival QM8, at present 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 unimaginable Bravia 9 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). That would make the U8QG the default TV for brightness lovers on a price range, particularly as soon as the U8N is gone.
As normal, all of it relies upon while you purchase. Till not too long ago, a 65-inch U8QG value $1,500, on par with the QM8K and bougier OLED fashions from final 12 months just like the LG C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The C4 is not any nuclear titan, however it offers significantly better accuracy, readability, off-axis efficiency, and so forth. At $1,000 or much less, the U8QG is loads friendlier, and nicely price contemplating for these after eye-blasting brightness.
