HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality is excellent. Reproduction of fine HD image detail is excellent. Color accuracy is excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, look very natural and lifelike. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--is good, so images have some depth. Black levels are generally excellent with help from Hisense's full array "Local Dimming" feature, but depth of black can vary with image content. In addition, subtle halos around objects -- a side effect of local dimming -- are sometimes visible, which can be distracting on some darker content (black level does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). This is among the brightest models we've tested (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture is well suited for a very sunny room. A lower setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model does a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. The deinterlacing and film mode operations are excellent on HD content; there is little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
ULTRA HD PERFORMANCE. Overall UHD performance is very good and HD-to-UHD upconversion falls short. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model, including movies and test videos, is presented in full 4K detail with excellent fidelity when played back via the TV's HDMI input. Via the USB port, high-resolution photos are displayed in full 4K detail. With regular HD content, the TV's HD-to-UHD up-conversion processing falls short, revealing some visible jaggies along the edges of diagonals when playing HD content.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. HDR performance has limited effectiveness. The display has decent peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) showing slight contrast improvement over basic 4K performance on content mastered with HDR. There is no significant contrast revealed between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, are preserved. The local dimming feature does deliver better black levels but halos around image content can become more prominent on some scenes, especially when viewing at off angles, and depth of black can vary. It does a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail from black to white, with no obvious banding on areas of the image that have subtle shade variations. There is no visible loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brighter colored objects remain nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Hisense has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs for this attribute. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. When we view the TV from the sides image quality degrades significantly. The picture shows a moderate loss of color, so flesh tones look a bit washed out. Black levels visibly brighten, reducing contrast especially on dark scenes. Haloing effects from the local dimming feature also become more apparent. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle is very good. The picture shows minimal change in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR. This Hisense TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. Though this model includes Hisense's "Motion Enhancement," a feature designed to reduce motion blur, we found it was not effective. In addition, this TV includes a "Motion Clearness" setting that is effective at reducing motion blur but it limited the brightness of the image and also added some flicker to the picture, so we left the feature off.
SOUND QUALITY. This model's sound quality falls short with below average performance. It's acceptable for typical programming, but shortcomings become obvious with movie soundtracks and music. Bass is lacking in depth and a bit in definition and treble lacks detail, while the overall sound is closed in. The speakers produce a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments and without obvious distortion. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. The remote has a traditional design with a full number key pad. It includes a built-in microphone to access the voice assistant feature. It also provides convenient direct button access to streaming services including Netflix, YouTube, and Vudu. The TV rests on four legs which can be centrally mounted or placed at the far ends of the display, so you have some flexibility on the width of your table top. Consider the TV's stand is 32 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on.
INTERNET FEATURES. This Smart TV provides Internet functionality via its "Android TV" portal with access to a library of applications, and a full Web browser. Movie streaming services that can be downloaded to this TV, or are built-in, include Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and HBO Now. Includes built-in Google Assistant, a virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming via the remote's built-in microphone. Support for external voice assistants (not built in to the TV) include: Amazon Alexa.
CONNECTIONS. This model has four HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one composite input, and no component input. It also has two USB ports, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; DLNA, to access files within your home network; Casting, which allows you to send streaming content from your mobile device to the TV via your home network; Screen mirroring, where the image on your smartphone or other compatible device can also appear on the TV.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. A detachable power cord. No printed manual is included.
